/^LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OP 

CALIFORNIA 

I       SAN  01EGO 


1 


WONDEES    OF    ITALIAN    AET. 


DEATH  OF  ST.  PETEE  MAKTTR.— BY  TITIAN. 
Formf.rJy  in  the  Church  of  SH.  John  and  St.  Pau\   Venice 


WONDERS 


OF 


ITALIAN     ART 


BY 

LOUIS     VIARDOT. 


ILLUSTRATED     WITH    TWENTT-EIGHT    ENGRAVINGS. 


NEW  YORK : 

CHARLES    SORIBNER    &    COMPANY. 
1870. 


Illustrated  Eibrary  of  Wonders, 


PUBLISHED   BY 


JKessrs.  Ef)arfe8  ScriOner  &  (Co., 

654  BROADWAY,   NEW  YORK. 
Eiich  one  volume  12mo.  Price  per  volume,  $1.60. 


Titles  of  Books.  No.  of  Illustrations 

WONDBRS  OF  GLASS-MAKING,          ....  49 

WONDERS  OF  ITALIAN  ART,       .  .  .  .  .28 

THE  SCN,  BY  A.  GUILLKMIX,  ....  68 

THB  MOON,  BY  A.  GCILLKMI.V,  .  .  .  .60 

WONDERS  OF  OPTICS,          .  ...          70 

THUNDER  AND  LIGHTXING,      .  .  .  ...      89 

WONDERS  OF  HEAT,  ...          90 

INTELLIGENCE  OF  ANIMALS,      ....  64 

GREAT  HUNTS,          .  ....          22 

EGYPT  3,300  YEARS  AGO,          .  .  .  .  .40 

WONDERS  OP  POMPEII,         .....          30 

SUBLIJIE  IN  NATURE,     ...  60 

BOTTOM  OF  THE  OCEAN,       ....  .93 

WONDERS  OP  THE  HEAVENS,  .          .          .          .48 

WONDERS  OP  ARCHITECTURE,         ....          50 

ACOUSTICS,          .......    114 

WONDERS  OF  THE  HUMAN  BODY,  ...          45 

LIGHTHOUSES,  ...... 

SUBTERRANEAN  WORLD,      ....  27 

*        In  Press  for  early  publication. 


'ITie  aoove  works  tent  to  any  adilrest,  post-paid,  upon  receipt  oj  tlie 
by  the  publishers. 


NOTE. 

THE  present  work  treats  almost  exclusively  of 
Italian  Art.  Another  volume  is  announced  by  the 
same  author,  in  which  he  proposes  to  give  a  similar 
sketch  of  the  other  great  Continental  Schools  of 
Painting. 

It  is  right  to  state  that  the  translator  has  ven- 
tured to  exercise  a  certain  discretion  in  omitting 
some  portions  of  the  work  which  appeared  unlikely  to 
interest  an  English  reader.  Of  these  omissions  the 
most  important  is  a  preliminary  dissertation  on 
Classical  Art. 

M.  C.  H. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY. — The  Greek  Painters,  Sculptors,  and  Architects — 

Greek  Mosaics — Pompeian  Mosaics— Early  Roman  Paintings  .     13 


CHAPTER  II. 

PAINTING    IN    THE   MIDDLE  AGES. — Christian   Paintings — Decora- 
tions of  Churches — Embroidery — Portraits  of  the  Virgin    .     .     23 


CHAPTER  III. 

PAINTING  AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE  RENAISSANCE. — Giunta  of  Pisa — 
Guido  of  Siena  —  Bartolomeo  of  Florence  —  Margari tone — 
Painting  in  Mosaic — Illumination  of  Manuscripts — Painting 
in  fresco,  distemper,  and  oil — Cimabue — Giotto  .  .  .41 

CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  ITALIAN  SCHOOLS. 

TUSCAN  OR  FLORENTINE  SCHOOL. — Fra  Angelico— Masaccio — Peru- 
gino— Leonardo  da  Vinci — Fra  Bartolommeo — Andrea  del 
Sarto — Bronzino — Vasari— Carlo  Dolci  .  .  .  .87 

ROHAN  SCHOOL.— Michael  Angelo — Raphael — The  Loggie — The 
Stanze — Raphael's  Madonnas — The  Seven  Cartoons — Giulio 
Romano  .  1 24 


X  CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

LOMBARD  SCHOOL. — Luini — Andrea  Mantegna— Garofalo — Correg- 

gio — Parmegiano — Caravaggio 213 

VENETIAN  SCHOOL. — Gentile  Bellini — Vittore  Carpaccio — Giovanni 
Bellini  —  Giorgione — Titian  —  Tintoretto  —  Paul  Veronese — 
Palma  Veccbio — Morons — Paris  Bordone — Pordenone — Sebas- 
tian del  Piornbo — Bassano — Canaletto 242 

BOLOGNESE  SCHOOL. — Francia — Ludovico  Garracci — Agostino  Car- 
racci — Annibal  Carracci — Domenichino — Guido — Guercino — 
Albani '  298 

NEAPOLITAN  SCHOOL. — Zingaro — Salvator  Rosa — Lo  Spagnoletto — 

Luca  Giordano  .  330 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

DEATH  OF  ST.  PETER  THE  MARTYR Titian Frontispiece 

BATTLE  OF  Issus Mosaic  at  Pompeii.  53 

MADONNA  AND  INFANT  CHRIST Cimabue. . . . ; 76 

JESUS  STRIPPED  OF  His  VESTMENTS Giotto 79 

CORONATION  OF  THE  VIRGIN Fro.  Angelica 90 

THE  CALLING;  OF  ST.  PETER Masaccio 93 

VIERGE  AUX  ROCHERS Leonardo  da  Vinci .  99 

THE  ENTOMBMENT Andrea  del  Sarto. .  117 

CREATION  OF  MAN Michael  Angela. ...  129 

ERYTHRAEAN  SIBYL "             ....  132 

DELPHIC  SIBYL "             133 

PROPHET  JOEL "             134 

MADONNA  DELLA  CASA  D'ALBA Raphael 147 

LA  FORNARINA "       161 

MADONNA  DELLA  SEDIA "       156 

FOUR  SIBYLS "       183 

VIOLIN  PLAYER "       185 

HOLY  FAMILY  (Louvre) "       201 

MARRIAGE  OP  ST.  CATHERINE Correggio. . . , 228 

THE  LOOKING  GLASS Titian 252 

SAN  SEBASTIANO "     263 

MARTYRDOM  OF  ST.  JOSTINA ..Paul  Veronese...    .  283 


Xll 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

ADORATION  OF  THK  SHEPHERDS Annibal  Carracci. .  308 

THE  THRKK  MARTS " 309 

LAST  COMMUNION  OF  ST.  JEKO.MK Domenichino 314 

BEATRICE  CENCI Guido 319 

AURORA "      323 

FANTA  PKTKONII.LA.  .                                          . .  Guercino 327 


oxaEB  AND  CHILD.  — BY  GCEBCINO. 


WONDERS  OF  ITALIAN  ART. 


INTRODUCTORY  CHAPTER, 

BY  a  fatality  always  to  be  deplored,  uo  work  of 
the  Grecian  painters  remains  to  the  present  day. 

In  spite  of  the  ravages  made  by  time  and  many 
generations  of  barbarians,  Architecture  and  Sculpture 
have  left  monuments  numerous  and  magnificent 
enough  to  enable  us  to  judge  of  the  state  of  both  these 
arts  in  Greece.  The  master-pieces  of  two  thousand 
years  ago  continue  to  excite  at  once  the  delight  and 
despair  of  the  student.  We  can  still  see  the  ruins  of 
the  Parthenon  ;  of  the  temple  of  Theseus  ;  and  of  the 
temple  of  Neptune  at  Paestum.  The  museums  of 
Italy  are  full  of  beautiful  relics  of  Greek  statuary.  At 
Paris  are  the  Venus  of  J/ilo,  Diana  t//e  Huntress,  the 
Gladiator,  the  Achilles.  Munich  possesses  the  mar- 
bles of  ^Egina,  and  London  those  of  Phidias  from  the 
Parthenon.  But  Painting,  using  more  fragile  mate- 
rials, has  not  been  able  to  survive  the  tempests  which 
entirely  engulfed  ancient  civilization,  and  threw 


14  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

back  the  human  mind,  like  another  Sisyphus,  from 
the  heights  it  had  attained,  to  the  humble  commence- 
ment of  a  new  road,  which  it  has  had  to  remount  bj 
a  long  and  painful  way.  The  painting  of  the  ancients 
is,  strictly  speaking,  absolutely  unknown  to  us,  but 
we  can  arrive  at  some  estimate  of  its  merits  by  evi- 
dent analogies  and  indications. 

And  firstly,  Painting  occupied,  in  the  esteem  of 
the  people  of  antiquity,  the  same  place  that  it  now 
holds,  relatively  to  other  arts,  in  public  opinion ;  and 
the  names  of  Apelles,  Zeuxis,  Parrhasius,  Polygnotus, 
Aristides,  Pamphilus,  Timanthes,  Nicomachus,  are  no 
less  great,  no  less  illustrious  as  painters  than  those  of 
Phidias,  Alcamenes,  Polycletus,  Praxiteles,  Myron, 
Lysippus,  as  sculptors,  ro  than  those  of  Hippodamus, 
Ictinus,  and  Callicrates,  as  architects. 

This  high  esteem  in  which  the  ancient  painters 
were  held  by  their  contemporaries  is  shown  again 
clearly  in  the  value  which  their  works  commanded. 
If  it  be  true  that  a  marble  statue,  made  by  an  inferior 
artist,  was  worth  currently  4:801.  sterling,  $2,400  gold, 
in  that  Rome  where  statues,  as  Pliny  say?,  were  more 
numerous  than  the  inhabitants,  where  Nero  brought 
five  hundred,  in  bronze,  from  the  temple  of  Delphi 
alone,  and  from  the  soil  of  which  had  been  dug — in 
the  time  of  the  Abbe  Barthelemy — more  than  seventy 
thousand ;  if  it  be  true  that  for  the  Diadumene,  Poly- 
cletus was  paid  a  hundred  talents  (21,600Z.  or  $108,000 
gold),  and  that  Attalus  in  vain  offered  the  inhabitants 
of  Cnidus  to  pay  all  their  debts  in  exchange  for  the 


INTRODUCTORY   CHAPTER.  15 

Venus  of  Praxiteles, — the  other  productions  of  high 
art,  of  which  Athens  acquired  a  monopoly,  must  have 
risen  to  a  value  which  in  our  days  can  scarcely  be  be- 
lieved. From  the  uniform  testimony  of  Plutarch  and 
Pliny,  who  would  have  been  contradicted  if  they  had 
asserted  falsehoods  or  exaggerations,  Nicias  refused 
for  one  of  his  pictures  sixty  talents  (12,960^.,  or  $64,800 
gold),  and  made  a  present  of  it  to  the  town  of  Athens ; 
Csesar  paid  eighty  talents  (17,280Z.,  or  $86,400  gold), 
for  the  two  pictures  of  Timomachus,  which  ho  placed 
at  the  entrance  to  the  temple  of  Venus  Genetrix;  a 
picture  of  Aristides  which  was  called  the  Beautiful 
Bacchus,  and  the  Diadumene  of  Polycletus,  were 
each  sold  for  one  hundred  talents  (21,600£,  or  $108,000 
gold) ;  and  when  the  town  of  Sicyon  was  laden  with 
debts  which  its  revenues  were  not  sufficient  to  pay,  the 
pictures  which  belonged  to  the  public  were  sold,  and 
the  produce  of  these  works  sufficed  to  pay  the  amount. 
Enough  has  been  said  to  show  that  the  painting 
of  the  ancients  was  held  by  them  in  equal  esteem 
with  their  sculpture  and  their  architecture ;  it  follows 
that  the  excellence  of  the  remains  of  the  two  latter 
arts  proves,  at  the  same  time,  the  excellence  of  the 
former.  Certainly,  if  in  future  ages  our  civilization 
were  to  perish  under  fresh  invasions  of  barbarians,  and 
that,  to  make  it  known  to  a  new  civilization  born  in 
after  ages,  there  only  remained  parts  of  St.  Peter's  at 
Rome  and  of  the  Venetian  palaces,  with  some  of  the 
statues  which  adorn  them — would  not  the  men  of 
those  future  times — seeing  in  what  esteem  we  hold 


16  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

Raphael,  Titian,  Rubens,  Poussin,  Velasquez,  Rem- 
brandt— think  that  the  works  cf  these  painters,  al- 
though destroyed,  must  have  been  equal  to  the  works 
still  preserved  of  Br  am  ante  and  Palladio,  of  Dona- 
tello  and  Michael  Angelo  ? 

But  there  also  remain  to  us  some  descriptions  of 
pictures  in  default  of  the  pictures  themselves;  and 
yet  more  than  this,  some  fragments  of  ancient  paint- 
ings have  been  found,  which  confirm  this  reasoning 
and  leave  no  doubt  as  to  the  excellence  of  the  art 
which  these  precious  remains  represent.  Passing 
over  the  detailed  eulogies  of  Cicero  and  Quintilian, 
we  have  the  descriptions  which  Pausanias  gives  of 
the  paintings  in  the  Poacile  at  Athens,  -and  of  the 
Lesche  of  the  Cnidians  at  Delphi ;  those  which  Pliny 
gives  of  the  pictures  of  Venus  and  of  Calumny,  by 
Apelles,  and  of  Penelope,  by  Zeuxis,  and  that  which 
Luciau  gives  of  Helen  the  courtesan,  also  by  Zeuxis. 
The  painted  vases,  improperly  called  Etruscan,  but 
which  are  really  Greek  in  manufacture  as  well  as  in 
style,  must  be  included  among  the  actual  remains  of 
ancient  pictorial  art.  Such  again  are  the  arabesques 
in  the  baths  of  Titus,  discovered  under  the  church  of 
San  Pietro  in  Yincula,  at  the  time  of  the  excavations 
ordered  by  Leo  X. ;  the  frescoes  found  in  the  sepul- 
chre of  the  Nasos ;  in  the  pagan  catacombs ;  and  more 
recently  the  frescoes  of  Herculaneum  and  Pompeii, 
which,  although'  merely  decorations  of  ordinary  citi- 
zens' houses  in  little  towns,  fifty  leagues  from  Rome, 
are  of  great  importance.  There  are  also  monochrome 


INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER.  IT 

designs  on  marble  and  stone,  for  example,  Theseus 
killing  the  Centaur  and  the  Ladies  playing  at  the 
game  of  talus  (huckle-bones),  wonderful  compositions, 
traced  on  marble  with  a  red  pigment,  which  Pliny 
calls  cinabris  indica.  both  in  the  museum  at  Naples. 

Examples  of  Greek  and  Roman  mosaics  also  re- 
main ;  amongst  others  the  beautiful  mosaic  found  at 
Pompeii  in  the  "  house  of  the  Faun"  so  called  because 
ithad  already  yielded  the  charming  little  Dancing Faun , 
the  pride  of  the  cabinet  of  bronzes :  both  are  in  the  same 
museum  at  Naples.  This  mosaic,  the  most  important 
vestige  of  the  painting  of  the  ancients  which  has  come 
down  to  us,  cannot  be  otherwise  than  the  copy  of  a 
picture ;  probably  of  one  of  the  Greek  pictures  brought 
to  Rome  after  the  conquest  of  Greece,  not  impossibly 
of  one  by  Philoxenus  of  Eretria,  a  pupil  of  Nicoma- 
chus,  who  is,  indeed,  known  to  have  painted  for  King 
Cassander,  one  of  the  battles  of  Alexander  against 
the  Persians.  The  mosaic  formed  the  pavement  of 
the  triclinium  (dining-room)  in  the  "  house  of  the 
Faun"  Surrounded  by  a  sort  of  frame,  it  contains 
twenty-five  persons  and  twelve  horses,  of  nearly  the 
size  of  life,  and  thus  forms  a  real  historical  picture.  It 
certainly  represents  one  of  the  battles  of  Alexander 
against  the  Persians,  and  probably  the  victory  of  Issus, 
for  the  recital  of  Quintus  Curtius  (lib.  III.)  agrees  per- 
fectly with  the  work  of  the  painter. 

If  the  original  picture,  of  which  this  mosaic  was 
a  copy,  were  of  Greek  origin,  the  painter  and  histo- 
rian must  have  drawn  from  the  same  traditions ;  if 


18  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

of  Roman  origin,  the  artist  must  have  described  on 
his  canvas  the  details  given  by  the  historian  of  Alex- 
ander. 

A  study  of  the  various  remains  to  which  reference 
has  been  made,  shows  first,  that  the  painters  of  an- 
tiquity knew  how  to  treat  all  subjects,  mythology, 
history,  landscape,  sea-pieces,  animals,  fruit,  flowers, 
costume,  ornament,  and  even  caricature ;  and  also 
that,  while  treating  great  subjects  and  embracing  vast 
compositions,  they  knew  how  to  attain  a  perfect 
order,  a  happy  arrangement  of  groups,  various  planes, 
foreshortenings,  chiaroscuro,  movement,  action,  ex- 
pression by  gesture  and  by  countenance,  all  the  quali- 
ties in  short  of  high  painting,  which  the  people  of 
modern  times  have  usually  denied  to  the  ancients. 

From  Athens  let  us  now  pass  to  Rome. 

Ashamed  of  being  in  all  matters  of  taste  the  dis- 
ciples of  the  conquered  Greeks,  the  Romans  boasted 
of  having  a  national  school  of  painting,  although  the 
ancient  religious  law  of  tl.e  Latins  was,  like  that  of 
the  Hebrews,  hostile  to  images.  Their  writers  pre- 
tended that  about  the  year  450,  A.  u.  c.,  a  member  of 
the  illustrious  family  of  Fabius,  surnamed  Pictor, 
who  derived  his  name  from  his  profession,  had  exe- 
cuted paintings  in  the  temple  of  Health.  They  cited 
also,  in  the  following  century,  a  certain  dramatic  poet, 
named  Pacuvius,  a  nephew  of  the  old  Ennius,  who 
had  himself  painted  the  decorations  of  his  theatre ; 
as  did  also,  a  hundred  years  later,  Claudius  Pulcher. 


INTRODUCTORY   CHAPTER.  19 

It  is  related,  besides,  that  Lucius  Hostilius  exposed, 
in  the  Fornm,  a  picture  where  he  had  represented 
himself  advancing  to  the  assault  of  Carthage,  which 
obtained  him  so  much  popularity  that  he  was  named 
consul  the  following  year.  All  this  appears  as  doubt- 
ful as  the  tales  of  Livy  about  the  foundation  of  Rome. 
What  is  certain  is  that,  when  they  penetrated  as  con- 
querors into  Greece,  the  Romans  showed  neither  taste 
for  nor  knowledge  of  the  arts.  They  began,  like  true 
barbarians,  by  breaking  the  statues  and  tearing  the 
pictures.  At  last,  Metellus  and  Mnmmius  stopped 
the  stupid  fury  of  the  soldiers  and  sent  pell-mell  to 
Rome  whatever  they  found  in  the  temples  of  Greece, 
without,  however,  having  any  true  idea  of  the  value 
of  these  precious  spoils.  This  Lucius  Mummius,  who 
placed  in  the  temple  of  Ceres  the  celebrated  Bacchus 
of  Aristides,  was  so  ignorant,  that  after  the  siege  of 
Corinth,  he  threatened  those  who  conveyed  to  Rome 
the  pictures  and  statues  taken  in  that  town,  that  if 
they  lost  the  pictures,  they  must  replace  them  ! 

The  Romans,  imitating  their  neighbors  the  Etrus- 
cans, whose  industry  and  arts  they  borrowed,  became 
great  architects,  and  especially  great  engineers ;  they 
constructed  roads,  highways,  bridges,  aqueducts, 
which,  surviving  their  empire,  still  excite  our  aston- 
ishment and  admiration.  But  their  only  knowledge 
of  the  arts  of  painting  and  sculpture  was  through 
the  works  of  the  Greeks.  Still  more  :  at  Rome  itself 
there  were  scarcely  any  artists  but  the  Greeks,  who 
had  gone,  like  grammarians  and  schoolmasters,  to 


20  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN    AKT. 

practise  their  profession  in  the  capital  of  the  world. 
It  was  a  Grecian  painter,  Metrodorus  of  Athens,  who 
came  to  Rome  to  execute  for  the  triumph  of  Paulus 
./Emilius  the  paintings  which  were  carried  in  proces- 
sion after  the  victorious  general,  and  which  Livy  calls 
simulacra  pugnarum  pwta.  Transplanted  out  of 
their  country,  reduced  to  the  condition  of  artisans, 
the  Grecian  artists  had  no  longer  at  Rome  those  origi- 
nal inspirations  which  independence  and  dignity  alone 
can  give."  They  formed  there  a  school  of  imitation, 
which  could  not  but  alter  and  deteriorate.  Architec- 
ture, being  necessary  to  the  great  works  commanded 
by  the  emperors,  was  everywhere  held  in  honor,  as 
was  also  Sculpture,  which  provided  the  new  temples 
with  statues  of  the  deified  Csesars.  But  Painting, 
reduced  to  decorate  the  interior  of  houses,  became  in 
some  sort  a  domestic  art,  a  simple  trade. 

At  the  same  time  that  the  Romans  prohibited 
their  slaves  from  becoming  painters,  they  disdained 
to  recognize  the  art  as  worthy  of  being  followed  by 
themselves.  It  is  true  that  amongst  their  painters  is 
mentioned  a  certain  Turpilius,  belonging  to  the 
equestrian  order ;  but  he  lived  at  Verona.  Quintns 
Pedius,  the  son  of  a  consul,  is  also  cited  ;  but  he  was 
dumb  from  his  birth  ;  and  to  enable  his  family  to 
allow  him  to  learn  painting  as  an  amusement,  the 
express  permission  of  Augustus  was  required.  The 
painter  Amulius,  who  has  left  some  reputation, 
worked  without  taking  off  the  toga  (pingebat  semper 
togatus  /  Pliny),  in  order  not  to  be  confounded  with 


INTRODUCTORY    CHAPTER.  21 

foreigners,  and  to  preserve  the  dignity  of  a  Roman 
citizen.  The  consequent  decadence  of  the  art  of 
painting  was  glaring.  By  degrees  the  Romans  came 
to  prefer  richness  to  beauty,  the  precious  metals  to 
simple  colors.  Pompey  exhibited  his  portrait  made 
of  pearls ;  and  Nero  proposed  to  gild  the  bronze 
Alexander  of  Lysippns  ;  after  having  caused  himself 
to  be  represented  in  a  portrait  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  high.  In  short,  Painting,  losing  all  no- 
bility and  all  character,  was  reduced  to  the  decoration 
of  the  interior  of  houses,  in  a  style  in  accordance 
with  such  degradation.  "  Ludius,"  says  Pliny,  "  in- 
vented the  charming  art  of  decorations  for  the  walls 
of  apartments,  where  he  scattered  country  houses, 
porticoes,  shrubs,  thickets,  forests,  hills,  ponds,  rivers, 
banks,  in  a  word,  all  that  the  fancy  of  any  one  could 
desire."  Pliny  also  praises  the  trivial  works  of  a  cer- 
tain Pyreicus,  who  painted  shoemakers'  and  barbers' 
shops,  asses,  kitchen  utensils,  &c.,  no  doubt  in  imita- 
tion of  Ctesilochus,  the  inventor  of  burlesque  among 
the  Greeks.  To  approve  of  such  subjects  was  to 
show  how  far  the  decay  had  already  spread. 

Thus  things  went  on  to  the  reign  of  the  Auto- 
nines,  who  attempted  to  restore  some  vigor  and  dig- 
nity to  the  arts.  After  Marcus  Aurelius,  the  evil 
increased,  the  decay  became  more  serious,  the  end 
approached.  Constantly-recurring  civil  wars,  mili- 
tary disasters,  internal  troubles,  risings  in  the  prov- 
inces, the  resistance  to  the  barbarians  who  were 
attacking  the  provinces,  the  general  confusion ;  in 


22  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

short,  all  the  scourges  let  loose  upon  the  world  in  the 
years  which  immediately  preceded  the  ruin  and  dis- 
memberment of  the  Empire,  were  far  from  calculated 
to  reanimate  taste,  to  raise  fallen  art,  or  to  restore  it 
to  its  brilliancy  and  power.  Here,  then,  we  must  no 
longer  occupy  ourselves  with  its  transformations,  its 
phases,  its  fashions  ot'  art,  but  with  its  very  existence. 
We  must  inquire  if  this  decay  amounted  to  abandon- 
ment or  total  extinction ;  and  ask  if  it  be  true  that 
there  is  here  in  the  History  of  Painting  an  immense 
lacuna,  bounded  on  one  side  by  the  death  of  ancient 
art,  on  the  other  by  the  birth  of  modern  art. 


CHAPTER  II. 

PAINTING    IN  'THE    MIDDLE    AGES. 

AT  the  close  of  the  last  chapter  we  spoke  of  the 
gulf  which  apparently  separates  modern  from  ancient 
pictorial  art.  It  may  perhaps  be  possible,  Ly  taking 
up  the  links  of  the  broken  chain  of  tradition,  to  trace 
a  connection,  however  slight,  between  the  two  periods. 

Constantine  removed  the  seat  of  the  empire  from 
Home  to  Byzantium,  precisely  at  the  period  to  which 
we  have  come.  This  great  event,  obliges  me  to  divide 
the  history  of  art  into  two  parts.  We  shall  follow  it 
first  in  the  Eastern  Empire,  until  the  taking  of  Con- 
stantinople ;  then  ue  shall  find  it  once  more  in  Italy. 
Whence  it  had  come,  thither  it  had  returned. 

After  having  placed  Christianity  on  the  throne, 
Constantine  set  himself  to  decorate  his  new  capital — 
to  make  it  another  Rome.  lie  built  churches,  pal- 
aces, baths ;  he  carried  objects  of  art  from  Italy,  and 
he  was  followed  by  the  artists  to  whom  proximity  to 
the  prince  and  the  court  was  a  necessity  of  existence. 
As  it  had  happened  at  Rome  under  Augustas,  who 
boasted  of  having  found  a  city  of  brick  and  left  it  of 
marble,  so  architecture  quickly  grew  at  Byzantium  to 


24-  WONDER'S    OF    ITALTAN   ART. 

be  the  first  of  the  arts.  Painting,  although  occupy- 
ing an  interior  position,  was  not  abandoned.  The 
Emperor  Julian,  to  show  at  once  his  tastes,  Ms  tal- 
ents, and  his  success,  caused  himself  to  be  painted 
crowned  by  Mercury  and  Mars  ;  we  know,  too,  that 
Yalentinian,  who  prided  himself  on  his  caligraphy, 
was  also  a  painter  and  sculptor. 

To  revenge  themselves  for  the  Pagan  reaction  at- 
tempted by  Julian  the  Apost*ate,  the  Christians  began 
to  destroy,  in  blind  fury,  all  the  vestiges  of  antiquity 
anterior  to  Christ — temples,  books,  and  works  of  art. 
"  Eager  to  destroy  all  that  might  recall  Paganism,  the 
Christians,"  says  Yasari,  "destroyed  not  only  the 
wonderful  statues,  the  sculptures,  the  paintings,  the 
mosaics,  and  the  ornaments  of  the  false  gods,  but  also 
the  images  of  the  great  men  which  decorated  the 
public  edifices." 

Under  the  Emperor  Theodosius  the  Great,  in  the 
fourth  century,  the  fatal  sect  of  Iconoclasts  (breakers 
of  images)  arose.  This  was  the  signal  for  a  fresh  de- 
struction of  statues  and  ancient  pictures.  However, 
if  the  Theodosian  column — the  worthy  rival  of  that 
of  Trajan — testifies  to  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  of 
design,  the  writings  of  St.  Cyril,  who  lived  in  the 
time  of  that  emperor,  furnish  irrefragable  proofs  of  it. 
In  the  sixth  of  the  ten  books  which  he  wrote  against 
the  Emperor  Julian,  one  chapter  has  for  its  motto  : 
"Our  paintings  teach  piety"  (nostrce  pictures  pietatem 
docent).  In  it  he  entreats  painters  to  teach  children 
temperance,  and  women  chastity.  In  his  book  against 


PAINTING    IN   THE    MIDDLE  AGES.  25 

the  Anthropomorphites,  the  same  St.  Cyril  supports 
the  opinion  of  the  artists  of  his  time,  who  believed 
they  must  make  Jesus  "  the  least  beautiful  of  the  chil- 
dren of  men."  It  is  remarkable  that  on  this  question 
— whether  our  Blessed  Lord  should  have  in  His  images 
the  beauty  that  charms  and  recalls  II  is  celestial  origin, 
or  the  deformity  which  the  extreme  humility  of  His 
mission  among  men  seems^to  require — the  Church  has 
never  decided.  The  Fathers,  as  well  as  the  School- 
men, have  always  been  divided  on  this  point.  The 
opinion  that  Jesus  should  not  be  beautiful,  sustained 
by  St.  Justin,  St.  Clement,  St.  Basil,  and  St.  Cyril, 
was  then  most  generally  received.  Celsus,  the  Pagan 
physician,  triumphed  at  it.  "  Jesus  was  not  beauti- 
ful," said  he ;  "  then  He  was  not  God."  The  most 
eminent  of  the  Fathers,  St.  Gregory  of  .Nyssa,  St. 
Jerome,  St.  Ambrose,  St.  Augustine,  and  St.  Chry- 
sostom,  vainly  sustained  the  contrary  opinion.  Vain- 
ly again,  in  the  twelfth  century,  did  St.  Bernard  affirm 
that,  as  the  new  Adam,  Jesus  surpassed  even  the 
angels  in  beauty.  The  greater  number  of  theologians, 
down  to  Saumaise  and  the  Benedictines,  Pouget  and 
Delarue,  in  the  last  century,  reproached  painters  with 
having  taken  too  much  license  in  ascribing  physical 
beauty  to  Him  of  whom  the  Prophet  Isaiah  said, 
"  He  hath  no  form  nor  beauty  that  we  should  desire 
Him." 

In  any  case  the  writings  of  the  Fathers  suffice  to 
prove  that  Christian  paintings  were  then  very  com- 
mon.   They  usually  assumed  allegorical  forms.    Jesus 
2 


26  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN   ART. 

was  represented,  as  well  as  His  mission  and  sacrifice, 
under  the  features  of  Daniel  in  the  den  of  lions  ;  of 
Jonah  swallowed  by  the  whale ;  of  the  Good  Shepherd 
carrying  back  to  the  fold  the  lost  sheep ;  even  of  Or- 
pheus charming  the  animals ;  of  the  submissive  lamb ; 
and  of  the  Phcenix  rising  from  its  ashes.  It  was  the 
Council  of  Constantinople,  held  in  692,  which  ordered 
artists  to  abandon  emblems,  and  to  return  to  the 
painting  of  Sacred  History.  Taste,  however,  con- 
tinued to  change  more  and  more,  to  the  detriment  of 
painting.  That  only  was  considered  beautiful  which 
was  rich.  When  marble  seemed  too  poor  a  material 
for  sculpture,  when  statues  were  made  of  porphyry, 
of  silver,  of  gold,  they  could  no  longer  be  contented 
with  pictures  on  canvas  stretched  on  frames.  Paint- 
ing existed,  no  doubt,  for  it  is  stated  that  the  portraits 
of  the  emperors  were  sent  into  the  provinces  at  their 
accession  ;  as  it  happened,  for  example,  with  Eudoxia, 
the  wife  of  Arcadius,  when  she  took  the  title  of 
Augusfa,  in  395  ;  and  Theodosius  II.,  who  erected,  in 
425,  a  sort  of  university  at  Constantinople,  personally 
cultivated  painting,  like  Valentinian.  But  the  more 
brilliant  mosaic,  often  formed  of  precious  materials, 
was  preferred  for  the  decoration  of  temples  and 
palaces.  Later — at  the  time  of  the  sanguinary  dis- 
turbances which  accompanied  and  followed  the  reign 
of  Zeuo — painting  was  prostituted  to  the  lowest  em- 
ployment to  which  it  could  descend,  serving  to  trace 
those  coarse  and  strange  figures  used  as  talismans, 
abraxas,  and  amulets  of  all  sorts,  which  had  become 
fashionable  amongst  a  superstitious  people. 


PAINTING    IN    THE    MIDDLE  AGES.  27 

It  is  known  that  Justinian  ordered  great  works  in 
architecture.  He  caused  a  new  temple  (St.  Sophia) 
to  be  erected  to  Divine  Wisdom,  by  the  architects, 
Anthemius  of  Tralles,  and  Isidorus  of  Miletus,  and 
was  called,  like  Adrian,  Reparator  orbis.  It  was  at 
this  period,  and  precisely  on  the  occasion  of  these 
architectural  constructions,  that  the  complete  triumph 
of  mosaic  over  painting  took  place.  Procopius  says 
positively,  that  to  ornament  certain  rooms  of  the  em- 
peror's palace,  they  employed,  instead  of  fresco  or 
painting  in  encaustic,  brilliant  mosaics  in  colored 
stones,  which  commemorated  the  victories  and  con- 
quests of  the  imperial  arms.  From  that  time  mosaic 
was  held  in  honor,  and  dethroning  true  painting,  it 
became  especially  the  art  of  the  Greeks  of  the  Eastern 
Empire.  With  them  taste  had  become  utterly  de- 
praved, and  their  works,  as  well  as  their  actions  and 
character,  showed  an  utter  debasement  of  mind. 
Architectural  art,  corrupted  by  oriental  taste,  was  no 
longer  anything  but  a  confused  prodigality  of  capri- 
cious ornaments.  Statuary,  no  less  degenerated  and 
strange,  created  only  small  images  in  metal,  or  even 
mixtures  of  metals ;  and  painting  itself  became  merely 
a  working  with  enamels  and  precious  stones,  with 
chasings  in  gold  and  silver. 

After  Justinian,  the  bitter  theological  quarrels  led 
to  civil  wars;  and  whilst  Mahomedanism,  itself  icono- 
clastic, grew  up  almost  in  the  vicinity  of  the  holy 
places,  the  sect  of  the  Iconoclasts,  still  increasing, 
finished  by  ascending  the  throne  with  Leo  the  Isauri- 


28  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

an  (726).  The  other  Leo,  the  Armenian,  and  Michael 
the  Stammerer,  joined  themselves  to  the  same  party, 
which  carried  their  proceedings  against  their  oppo- 
nents to  such  a  point,  that  Theophilus,  the  son  of 
Michael,  caused  a  monk  named  Lazarus  to  be  burned, 
in  840,  as  punishment  for  having  painted  sacred  sub- 
jects. At  last  Basil  the  Macedonian,  an  enemy  to 
the  iconoclastic  party  and  its  excesses,  re-established 
in  867  the  worship  of  images,  and  restored  to  the  arts 
their  free  exercise.  It  seems  that  either  old  artists 
must  have  been  preserved  from  the  proscription — 
which,  indeed,  had  only  alighted  on  religious  images 
— or  new  artists  must  have  speedily  arisen ;  since  his- 
torians tell  us  that  Basil,  the  greatest  constructor  of 
editices  after  Constantine  and  Justinian,  had  in  his 
palaces  so  many  pictures  representing  the  battles  he 
had  gained  and  the  towns  he  had  taken,  that  the  por- 
ticoes, the  walls,  the  ceilings,  and  the  pavements  were 
covered  by  them.  Delivered  from  the  Iconoclasts, 
the  arts  of  design  could  take  breath  again,  and  con- 
tinued unchecked  to  the  time  of  the  Crusades,  at  the 
end  of  the  eleventh  century. 

Every  one  knows  that  these  great  armed  migra- 
tions threw  Europe  as  much  on  Constantinople  as  on 
Antioch  or  Jerusalem ;  and  that  in  1204  the  capital 
of  the  Eastern  Empire  was  carried  by  assault  by  the 
Crusaders,  under  Baldwin  of  Flanders.  In  the  sack 
of  this  town  the  Jupiter  Olympus  by  Phidias,  the 
Juno  of  Samoa  by  Lysippus,  and  other  great  works 
of  antiquity,  perished  at  the  same  time  with  a  number 


PAINTING   IN   THE   MIDDLE  AGES.  29 

of  works  of  art  which  a  fashion  in  bad  taste  had  laden 
with  precious  ornaments.  But  after  the  brief  division 
of  the  Grecian  empire  between  the  French  and  the 
Venetians,  and  after  the  establishment  of  the  Genoese 
and  Pisans  in  the  Bosphorus,  when  a  more  regular  state 
succeeded  to  the  disorders  of  conquest,  the  communi- 
cation of  ancient  Greek  art  to  the  western  nations 
commenced.  The  monuments  of  that  art  were  then 
much  better  preserved  at  Byzantium  than  at  Rome, 
which  had  been  so  many  times  sacked  by  the  barbar- 
ians. At  the  same  time  with  the  ancient,  a  new  art 
was  also  communicated,  that  of  the  modern  Greeks, 
who  had  their  architecture,  their  statuary,  their  fres- 
coes, and  their  mosaics.  Then,  after  the  expulsion  of 
the  Crusaders  and  the  destruction  of  their  ephemeral 
empire,  Michael  Palaeologus,  who  raised  for  one  mo- 
ment the  Greek  empire,  also  restored  some  life  to  the 
fine  arts,  and  amongst  them  painting  was  not  for- 
gotten. 

This  prince  had  his  principal  victories  depicted  in 
his  palace,  and  placed  a  portrait  of  himself  in  St. 
Sophia.  After  Michael,  the  empire  was  occupied  al- 
most exclusively  with  resistance  to  its  enemies  until 
the  time  of  Mahomed  II.,  who  carried  Constantinople 
by  assault,  on  the  29th  May,  1453.  Arts  and  letters 
then  alike  took  refuge  in  Italy,  where  we  shall  resume 
their  history  from  the  reign  of  Coustantine  the  Great. 

Between  the  translation  of  the  seat  of  empire  to 
Byzantium  and  the  taking  of  Rome  by  Odoacer  and 


30  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

the  discontented  mercenaries  in  A.  D.  476,  there  is  little 
to  relate  beyond  the  attacks  and  the  invasions  of  bar- 
barians. "We  must  then  start  from  their  conquest  of 
Rome.  It  is  known  with  what  frightful  disasters  this 
was  accompanied,  and  how  many  inestimable  objects 
perished  in  the  reiterated  pillages  that  Rome  had  to 
undergo.  During  the  short  rule  of  the  first  hordes 
from  the  north,  a  deep  slumber  seemed  to  have  fallen 
on  all  the  works  of  intellect,  and  the  only  productions 
of  this  sad  period  which  can  be  considered  as  in  any 
way  belonging  to  painting  are  some  mosaics  serving 
as  pavements  in  the  halls  of  the  bath-rooms. 

At  last  the  Goths  appeared,  drove  out  the  nations 
which  had  preceded  them,  and  founded  an  empire. 
Their  appearance  in  Italy  was  a  deliverance,  as  it  was 
also  in  Spain,  for  in  both  peninsulas  they  showed  the 
same  mildness  of  manners,  the  same  spirit  of  justice, 
order,  and  of  conservation.  Unfortunately  for  Italy, 
their  rule  was  of  shorter  duration  there  than  in  Spain. 
The  great  Theodoric — great  at  least  until  his  old  age 
—  who  had  attached  to  himself  Symmachus,  JBoethius, 
and  Cassiodorus,  stopped  the  ravages  as  much  as  he 
could,  and  took  every  care  to  preserve  the  monuments 
of  antiquity.  "  Having  had  the  happiness,"  to  adopt 
his  own  expression,  "to  find  at  Rome  a  nation  of 
statues  and  a  troop  of  bronze  horses,"  he  had  several 
buildings  erected  to  receive  them.  We  are  surprised 
to  find  this  barbarian  recommending  the  imitation  of 
the  ancients  to  his  architect  Aloisius,  whom  he  had 
made  a  count  (comes),  and  whom  he  called  Your  Sub- 


PAINTING   IN   THE   MIDDLE  AGES.  31 

Umity,  and  especially  urging  him,  by  a  rare  instinct 
of  good  taste,  to  make  the  new  buildings  agree  with 
the  old  ones.  His  worthy  minister,  Cassiodorus,  him- 
self cultivated  painting,  at  all  events  that  of  the  time. 
He  relates  in  his  u Epistolce"  that  he  took  pleasure 
in  enriching  the  manuscripts  of  the  monastery  he  had 
founded  in  Calabria,  with  ornaments  painted  in  mini- 
ature. Beda,  who  had  seen  these  figures  and  orna- 
ments of  the  manuscripts  of  Cassiodorus,  says,  that 
nothing  could  be  more  carefully  executed  or  more 
perfect.  Unfortunately  all  these  works  afterwards 
perished,  and  nothing  of  this  period  has  been  preserved 
to  us  but  mosaics. 

The  Goths,  "  closely  resembling  the  Greeks,"  says 
their  historian  Jornandes,  did  not  long  stand  against 
the  civil  wars  which  broke  out  after  the  death  of 
Theodoric,  the  attacks  of  the  Romans  from  Byzan- 
tium, conducted  by  Narses,  and  those  of  the  fresh 
tribes  which  precipitated  themselves  across  the  Alps 
from  the  north. 

In  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  the  Lombards, 
under  Alboin,  made  themselves  masters  of  Italy. 
The  dominion  of  these  new  conquerors  was  continu- 
ally disturbed  by  intestine  quarrels,  and  contested  by 
the  exarchs  of  Ravenna,  acting  as  lieutenants  of  the 
emperor  at  Constantinople.  In  such  a  situation,  when 
feudal  anarchy  was  beginning  to  people  Italy  with 
petty  tyrants,  the  arts  could  be  but  feebly  cultivated. 
However,  the  king,  Antharis,  who  had  become  a 
Christian  to  please  his  wife  Theodelinda,  as  Clovis 


32  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

bad  at  the  prayers  of  Clotilda,  caused  churches  to  be 
built  or  repaired,  which  he  decorated  with  sculptures 
and  paintings.  Then  Theqdelinda  herself,  when  a 
widow  and  queen,  founded  the  celebrated  residence 
of  Monza,  near  Milan.  We  find  in  the  writings  of 
the  Lombard  Warnefridns  of  Aquileia,  known  by  the 
name  of  Paul  the  Deacon,  a  minute  description  of 
the  paintings  in  the  Palace  of  Monza,  which  record- 
ed the  exploits  of  the  Lombard  armies.  From  these 
pictures,  which  were  before  his  eyes,  he  described  all 
the  accoutrements  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  or  rather 
of  his  ancestors,  for  he  lived  two  centuries  later. 
Luitprand  continued  the  work  of  Theodelinda.  An 
enemy  to  the  Iconoclasts,  he  began,  by  the  advice  of 
Gregory  III.,  to  decorate  the  churches  with  frescoes 
and  mosaics. 

The  removal  of  the  imperial  court,  in  the  first 
place,  and  then  the  rule  of  the  barbarians — now  be- 
come Christians  and  devotees — had  given  great  im- 
portance to  the  bishops  of  Rome.  Under  cover  of 
the  long  wars  between  the  Lombard  kings  and  the 
exarchs  of  Ravenna,  the  popes  founded  their  tempo- 
ral power,  acquired  territory,  and  became  sovereigns. 
This  circumstance  was  fortunate  for  the  arts,  which 
found  in  them  natural  protectors,  and  Rome,  restored 
by  the  papacy,  became  the  centre  and  the  capital  of 
art.  In  spite  of  the  approach  of  Attila,  whom  St. 
Leo  stopped  at  the  gates  of  the  holy  city — in  spite  of 
the  pillage  to  which  Genseric,  less  awed  than  the 
fierce  king  of  the  Huns,  delivered  it — we  see  the  sue- 


PAINTING   IN   THE   MIDDLE  AGES.  33 

cessive  labors  of  the  popes  for  the  restoration  of 
Rome  begun  and  continued.  Before  leaving  that 
ancient  capital  of  the  world,  Constantino  had  built 
the  old  St.  Peter's,  the  old  St.  Paul's,  St.  Agnes,  and 
St.  Lawrence.  The  popes  decorated  these  churches 
magnificently,  and  we  may  mention  principally  the 
great  work  of  St.  Leo,  who  caused  the  whole  series 
of  popes  from  St.  Peter  to  himself  to  be  painted  on 
a  wall  of  the  basilica  of  St.  Paul.  This  work,  begun 
in  the  fifth  century,  has  lasted  to  our  own  day,  hav- 
ing been  spared  in  the  great  fire  which  destroyed  the 
greater  part  of  that  edifice  in  1824  ;  and  Lanzi  justly 
quotes  it  in  proof  of  the  assertion  with  which  he  be- 
gins his  book :  "  That  Italy  was  not  without  painters, 
even  during  the  dark  ages,  appears  not  only  from  his- 
tory, but  from  various  pictures  that  have  resisted  the 
attacks  of  time.  Rome  still  retains  some  of  very 
ancient  date." 

ID  the  Liber  Pontificalia,  Anastasius  the  libra- 
rian, or  whoever  else  may  be  the  author  of  that  book, 
gives  a  very  complete  detail  of  the  sculpture,  the 
carving,  and  the  works  in  gold  and  silver  in  the 
churches  founded  by  Constantine.  As  for  the  paint- 
ings, of  which  he  also  speaks,  they  have  all  perished, 
except  the  mosaics  and  frescoes  in  the  Christian  cata- 
combs. But  Anastasius  speaks  of  a  new  kind  of 
painting,  which  was  just  becoming  fashionable,  in 
those  times  when  metals  alone  were  considered  valu- 
able ;  1  mean  painting  in  embroidery,  that  is  to  say, 
worked  with  gold  and  silver  threads  on  silk  stuff's.  He 

3 


34:  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

speaks  among  other  things  of  a  chasuble  of  the  Pope 
Honorius  I.  (625),  the  embroidery  on  which  repre- 
sented the  Deliverance  of  St.  Peter  and  the  Assump- 
tion of  the  Virgin. 

The  art  of  embroidery  had  been  brought  from  the 
East  by  the  Greeks  of  Byzantium.  It  was  known  to 
the  ancient  Greeks,  even  from  the  earliest  times,  as  is 
evidenced  by  the  tapestry  of  Penelope,  wherein  fig- 
ures were  represented  in  different  colors.  It  was 
also  known  to  the  Romans,  according  to  Cicero's  aUn- 
sion  when  reproaching  Verres  with  his  thefts  in  Sicily 
("  neque  ullam  picturam,  neque  in  tabula,  nequc 
textili  fuisse  ").  In  the  time  of  St.  John  Chrysostom 
(fourth  century),  the  toga  of  a  Christian  senator  con- 
tained as  many  as  six  hundred  figures,  which  made 
the  eloquent  orator  say  with  grief,  "  All  our  admira- 
tion is  now  reserved  for  goldsmiths  and  weavers."  It 
was  especially  in  Italy  that  the  art  of  embroidery 
gained  ground.  It  is  enough  to  mention  the  famous 
tapestry  of  the  Countess  Matilda,  that  celebrated 
friend  of  Gregory  VII.,  who  reigned  over  Tuscany, 
Modena,  Mantua,  and  Ferrara,  from  1076  to  1125, 
and  who  by  her  donations  so  largely  added  to  the 
"  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter." 

When  Charlemagne,  after  having  destroyed  the 
Lombard  kingdom,  was  crowned  at  Rome  the  Empe- 
ror of  the  West,  there  was  a  moment  of  great  hope 
for  the  arts.  What  might  not  have  been  expected 
from  the  powerful  protection  of  a  prince  who  under- 
stood— though  without  possessing  it — the  advantages 


PAINTING   IN  THE   MIDDLE    AGES.  35 

of  science,  who  collected  around  his  person  the  Lom- 
bard Paul  the  Deacon,  Peter  of  Pisa,  Paulinus  of 
Aqnileia,  the  English  Alcuin,  and  his  pupil  Egin- 
hard  ?  But  continual  military  expeditions  left  him 
too  little  leisure  to  permit  him  to  give  an  impulse  to 
arts  which  would  have  required  his  whole  care  and 
time.  Charlemagne  only  caused  some  bas-reliefs, 
mosaics,  and  illuminated  manuscripts  to  be  executed 
for  his  much-loved  church  of  Aachen  (Aix-la-Cha- 
pelle).  But  the  popes,  tranquil  in  Italy  under  his 
protection,  took  the  part  he  could  not  fulfil.  Adrian 
I.,  who  praises  in  his  letters  the  works  of  painting 
ordered  by  his  predecessors,  caused  the  poor  whom 
he  fed  to  be  painted  on  the  walls  of  St.  John  Late- 
ran  ;  and  his  successor,  Leo  III.,  had  the  "  Preaching 
of  the  Apostles  "  represented  in  fresco  in  the  gallery 
of  the  triclinium  at  the  palace  of  the  Later  an,  the 
vaulted  roof  of  which  was  decorated  in  mosaic. 

The  division  and  the  weakening  of  the  empire  of 
Charlemagne  tended  to  the  aggrandisement  of  the 
popes,  whose  policy  always  was  to  foster  disunion  in 
Italy  in  order  to  profit  by  it.  But  as  this  division 
increased,  tlieir  own  power  became  more  frequently 
attacked  and  their  reigns  more  turbulent.  The  great 
schism  of  the  East,  the  numerous  anti-popes,  the  long 
quarrels  of  Gregory  YI1.  and  the  emperor  Henry 
IV.,  from  which  arose  the  factions  of  the  Guelphs 
and  the  Ghibelines,  from  these  causes  sprung  up  such 
sanguinary  and  prolonged  troubles,  that  for  the  sec- 
ond time  we  find  the  cultivation  of  the  arts  inter- 


36  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

rnpted.  There  is,  between  the  ninth  and  eleventh, 
centuries,  that  is  to  say  during  the  period  of  the 
grossest  ignorance  and  thickest  darkness  of  the  mid- 
dle ages,  a  complete  blank,  of  which  no  memorial  is 
left  us.  In  this  period  we  can  only  find,  in  the  way 
of  painting,  the  works  of  some  cenobites  who  illumi- 
nated their  missals  in  the  peace  and  obscurity  of  the 
cloister.  There  was  then,  as  the  annotators  of  Vasari 
(MM.  Jeanron  and  Leclanche)  judiciously  remark, 
"less  an  ignorance  of  the  works  of  antiquity,  of 
which  so  many  remains  still  existed,  than  a  general 
weariness  of  the  ancient  science,  an  insurmountable 
apathy  for  its  requirements,  a  perpetual  indifference 
to  its  formulas." 

It  was  in  the  eleventh  century,  after  that  terrible 
year  1000,  which  it  had  been  generally  expected 
would  bring  the  end  of  the  world,  during  that  period 
when, — favored  by  the  ever-reviving  quarrels  be- 
tween the  emperors  and  the  popes, — the  Italian  re- 
publics, Venice,  Florence,  Genoa,  Pisa,  and  Siena, 
were  in  process  of  formation,  and  when  the  Normans 
regaining  Sicily  from  the  Arabs,  were  establishing  an 
empire  in  the  south  of  Italy,  that  we  see  clearly  how 
to  take  up  the  links  of  the  traditional  chain,  and  find 
the  first  symptoms  of  the  future  revival.  It  is  to 
this  time  that  the  different  images  of  the  Virgin, 
which  have  been  attributed  to  St.  Luke,  the  paint- 
ings also  in  the  vaults  of  the  Duomo  of  Aquileia,  of 
Santa  Maria  Prisca  at  Orvieto,  the  Madonna  delle 
Grazie,  and  the  Madonna  di  Trcssa.  in  the  cathedral 


PAINTING   IN   THE   MIDDLE  AGES.  37 

of  Siena,  all  belong.  At  the  same  period,  and  even 
before  the  Crusades,  an  intercourse  was  begun  be- 
tween the  artists  of  the  Eastern  Empire  and  those  of 
Italy.  This  had  become  very  important  to  the  latter 
after  such  a  long  interruption  in  the  practice  of  art. 
Many  Greek  paintings  were  then  brought  from  Con- 
stantinople and  Smyrna,  amongst  others  a  "  Ma- 
donna," which  is  at  Rome  in  Sta.  Maria  in  Oos- 
medin,  and  another  "  Madonna"  in  the  Camerino  of 
the  Vatican,  which  is  said  by  Lanzi  to  be  the  best 
work  of  the  Byzantines  in  Italy,  both  in  regard  to  its 
painting  and  its  state  of  preservation.  It  was  also  in 
the  eleventh  century  that  the  Venetians  sent  tor  Gre- 
cian workers  in  mosaic,  to  whom  we  owe  the  large 
old  mosaics  in  the  singular  and  quite  oriental  basilica 
of  St.  Mark's  at  Venice.  Other  Grecian  workers  in 
mosaic  were  invited  to  Sicily,  in  the  twelfth  century, 
by  the  Norman  William  the  Good,  when  he  built  his 
celebrated  cathedral  of  Monreale. 

Then  at  last  national  art  awoke  in  Italy,  and  after 
the  long  period  of  obscurity  which  we  call  the  dark 
ages,  the  first  streaks  of  light  were  seen  announcing 
the  dawn  of  a  new  civilisation  soon  to  arise  on  the 
world.  And  yet  this  was  not  because  the  country 
was  either  peaceful  or  prosperous.  The  quarrels  of 
the  Emperor  Otho  IV.  and  the  Pope  Innocent  III. 
had  revived  the  hatred  of  the  Guelph  and  Ghibeline 
factions.  Under  Frederick  II.,  the  league  of  the 
Lombard  towns,  the  claims  of  Gregory  IX.  and  Inno- 
cent IV.,  kept  up  the  incessant  war  between  the 


38  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   AET. 

empire  and  the  papacy.  But  in  the  midst  of  these 
conflicts,  not  only  of  words,  but  also  of  arms,  and  in 
which  every  one  wished  to  prove  that  he  had  right 
as  well  as  might  on  his  side,  intellect  had  thrown  off 
its  drowsiness,  and  the  human  mind  once  more 
moved  forward.  Notwithstanding  his  reverses,  Fred- 
erick II.  contributed  much  to  this  movement.  He 
was  a  clear-sighted  prince,  learned  for  his  period,  and 
had  gathered  around  him  a  polite  and  elegant  court. 
King  of  the  Two  Sicilies,  as  well  as  emperor  of  Ger- 
many, he  almost  constantly  resided  in  Italy.  He 
composed  verses  in  the  vulgar  idiom,  and  caused  a 
number  of  Greek  or  Arabian  books  to  be  translated 
into  Latin.  He  erected  several  palaces,  which  he 
delighted  in  decorating  with  columns  and  statues. 
The  medals  of  his  reign  are  of  a  style  and  finish  till 
then  forgotten  since  ancient  times.  Lastly,  he  had 
books  of  his  own  composition  illuminated  with  minia- 
ture paintings,  the  execution  of  which  he  himself 
directed  and  superintended.  The  princes  of  the 
house  of  Anjou  followed  his  example,  and  the  popes 
would  not  yield  to  the  emperor  in  art  any  more  than 
in  the  rest  of  their  pretensions.  The  sovereign  pon- 
tiffs of  this  age,  Honorius  III.,  Gregory  IX.,  Inno- 
cent IV.,  Nicholas  IY.,  caused  the  porticoes  and  the 
immense  galleries  of  their  churches  to  be  ornamented 
with  frescoes  and  mosaics. 

By  a  result  scarcely  perhaps  to  be  expected,  even 
the  agitation  of  the  period  fostered  an  increased 
growth  of  all  the  sciences,  and  also  especially  of  art. 


PAINTING   IN   THE   MIDDLE   AGES.  39 

The  republics,  the  free  cities,  the  small  states,  all  the 
fragments  of  divided  Italy,  in  everything  disputed 
pre-eminence  with  each  other.  Each  wished  to  tri- 
umph over  its  rival  by  the  importance  of  its  estab- 
lishments and  the  beauty  of  the  works  of  its  artists. 
Again,  the  rulers  whom  the  greater  number  of  these 
states  had  chosen,  or  those  who  had  raised  themselves 
to  be  masters,  considering  themselves  e;ich  a  new 
Pericles,  and  forestalling  the  Medici,  wished,  whilst 
they  flattered  the  vanity  of  their  fellow-citizens,  at 
the  same  time  to  occupy  their  attention  and  to  satisfy 
their  wishes.  We  can  understand  what  this  double 
sentiment,  this  double  want,  must  have  produced. 
From  it  there  resulted  indeed  vast  cathedrals,  sump- 
tuous monasteries,  palaces,  and  town-halls.  From 
the  same  cause  sprung  up  a  universal  taste,  a  spirit 
of  emulation,  a  passionate  ardor,  all  the  stimulating 
qralities  of  a  noble  labor  performed  publicly,  which, 
while  it  seeks,  is  at  the  same  time  rewarded  by  the 
public  approval.  When  in  1294:  Florence  decreed 
the  erection  of  her  cathedral,  the  podesta  of  the  seign- 
ory  was  enjoined  "  to  trace  the  plan  of  it  with  the 
most  sumptuous  magnificence,  so  that  tlte  industry 
ard  power  of  man  shall  never  invent  and  undertake 
anything  vaster  or  more  beautiful ;  inasmuch  as  no 
one  ought  to  put  his  hand  to  the  works  of  the  com- 
nrmity  with  a  less  design  than  to  make  them  corre- 
spond with  the  lofty  spirit  which  binds  the  souls  of 
all  the  citizens  into  one  single,  united,  identical  will." 
Who  is  it  that  holds  in  that  distant  age  such  magnifi- 


40  WONDEBS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

cent  and  haughty  language  ?  Is  it  not  surely  Pericles 
giving  orders  to  Ictinus  and  Phidias  for  the  erection 
of  the  temple  to  the  virgin  daughter  of  Jupiter? 
No,  it  is  simply  the  seignory,  the  community  of  Flor- 
ence ; — but  Florence  is  the  modern  Athens. 


CHAPTER  III. 

PAINTING    AT   THE   TIME   OF    THE   RENAISSANCE. 

IT  was  in  Tuscany,  the  ancient  Etruria,  the  first 
teacher  of  Rome,  that  the  regeneration  of  art  began. 
Nicholas,  a  sculptor  of  Pisa  (Nicola  Pisano),  by  study- 
ing with  care  the  bas-reliefs  on  an  old  sarcophagus,  in 
which  the  body  of  Beatrice,  mother  of  the  Countess 
Matilda,  had  been  laid,  and  which  represented  the 
chase  of  Meleager  or  of  Hippolytus,  discovered  and 
recognized  the  style  of  the  ancients,  which  he  suc- 
ceeded in  imitating  in  his  own  works.  He  is  called 
Nicola  daW  Urna,  on  account  of  having  made,  in 
1231,  the  beautiful  urn  or  sarcophagus  of  St.  Dominic 
at  Bologna.  If  we  look  back  at  the  coarse  sketches 
of  bas-reliefs  by  which,  half  a  century  before,  a  certain 
Anselmo,  called,  however,  Dcedalus  alter,  had  cele- 
brated the  retaking  of  Milan  by  Frederick  Barbarossa, 
we  perceive  how  far  this  first  restorer  of  art  had  ad- 
vanced. After  Nicola  Pisano  came  successively  his 
son  Giovanni,  his  pupil  Arnolfo,  his  brothers  Agostino 
and  Agnolo  of  Siena,  then  Andrea  Pisano,  then 
Orcagna,  and  at  last,  at  Florence,  Donatello  and 
Ghiberti. 


42  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

"  Painting  and  sculpture,"  says  Vasari,  "  those 
two  sisters  born  on  the  same  day  and  governed  by  the 
same  soul,  have  never  made  a  step  the  one  without  the 
other."  Painting,  then,  musf,  closely  have  followed 
the  movement  which  Nicola  of  Pisa  and  his  succes- 
sors had  given  to  art.  Cimabue  was  born  in  1240, 
and  Yasari,  who  found  it  convenient  to  open  his  His- 
tory with  the  name  of  the  old  Florentine  master,  says 
that  in  his  time  the  whole  race  of  artists  was  extinct 
(spento  affatto  tutto  iT  numero  degl'  u'trtici),  and  that 
God  destined  Cimabue  to  bring  again  to  light  the  art 
of  painting.  There  is,  in  these  words  of  the  Plutarcu 
of  painters,  who  endeavors  to  raise  so  high  the  fiVt 
of  his "'  Illustrious  Men,"  a  manifest  exaggeration,  con- 
tradicted by  all  that  remains  to  us  of  that  time. 
When  Cimabue  came  into  the  world,  the  Pisans  hyi 
already  a  school,  formed  by  the  Greek  artists  whom 
they  had  brought  from  the  East  with  the  architect 
Buschetto,  when  they  raised  their  cathedral  in  106-0-. 
There  are  still  to  be  seen  in  this  duomo  several  old 
paintings  of  the  twelfth  century  ;  and  it  is  known  that 
in  1230  Giunta  of  Pisa  executed  some  great  works  i~> 
the  church  of  Assisi,  where  Pere  Angeli,  the  historian 
of  that  basilica  of  the  Franciscans,  wrote  the  follow- 
ing inscription  :  "  Juncta  Pisanus,  ruditer  Graecis  in- 
structus,  primus  ex  Italis  artem  apprehendit  circa  an. 
Sal.  1210." 

The  works  of  Giunta,  although  hard,  dry,  and  des- 
titute of  grace,  yet  show,  as  Lanzi  says,  in  the  study 
of  the  nudes,  in  the  expression  of  grief,  in  the  adjust- 


TIME   OF   THE   RENAISSANCE.  43 

ment  of  the  drapery,  a  real  superiority  over  the 
Greeks,  his  contemporaries.  Ventura  and  Ursone  of 
Bologna  painted  in  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth 
century;  Guido  of  Siena,  about  1221;  Bonaventura 
Berlinghieri,  of  Lucca,  about  1235 ;  the  first  Bartol- 
Omeo,  of  Florence,  who  is  believed  to  have  painted 
the  highly  venerated  Annunciation,  still  in  the  church 
of  the  Servi,  about  1236;  and  lastly,  at  the  same  pe- 
riod, Margaritone  of  Arezzo,  who  first  painted  on 
canvas,  as  Yasari  himself  allows.  "  He  extended,"  he 
says,  "  canvas  on  a  panel,  fastening  it  down  with  a 
strong  glue  made  of  shreds  of  parchment,  and  covered 
it  entirely  with  plaster  before  beginning  to  paint." 
Thus  Margaritone  united  the  three  processes  of  paint- 
ing, pane],  canvas,  and  fresco.  Cardinal  Bottari, 
whom  Yasari  cites  in  support  of  his  assertion,  simply 
says  of  Oimabue,  "  that  he  was  the  first  who  left  the 
Greek  style  of  painting,  or  who  at  all  events  went 
further  from  it  than  others."  Hence  we  may  conclude 
that,  as  might  have  been  expected,  there  was  a  pro- 
gress in  the  tradition  of  art,  not  a  new  creation,  and 
Cimabue's  merit,  as  a  disciple  of  the  Greeks  and  yet 
superior  to  his  masters,  as  Bottari  well  calls  him,  is 
sufficiently  great  without  being  styled,  at  the  expense 
of  truth,  the  inventor  of  painting. 

The  fourteenth  century  was  no  less  agitated  than 
its  predecessor.  The  popes,  forced  to  leave  Rome, 
and  transporting  the  seat  of  the  Church  to  Avignon  ; 
Joanna  I.  of  Naples  and  her  four  husbands  overturn- 
ing Southern  Italy ;  the  Guelphs  and  the  Ghibelines 


4:4  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

fighting  even  in  the  streets  of  Venice  and  Genoa,  re- 
publics which  should  have  had  no  share  in  their 
strifes ;  during  that  obstinate  war  between  the  empire 
and  the  papacy,  the  smaller  states  given  up  to  civil 
discord  and  ephemeral  tyrants,  and  moreover  attack- 
ing and  absorbing  one  another;  Pisa  obliged  to  sub- 
mit to  Florence,  and  Padua  to  Yenice;  the  emperors 
under  the  necessity  of  selling  franchises  to  cities,  titles 
and  honors  to  military  leaders  ;  such  is  the  abridged 
history  of  this  strange  century?  full  of  noise,  of  agita- 
tion, and  passion. 

However,  in  the  midst  of  this  turmoil  a  steady 
progress  was  being  made  in  the  realms  of  intellect. 
Dante,  Petrarch,  and  Boccaccio,  by  settling  the  Ital- 
ian language  and  rejecting  obsolete  idioms,  opened 
the  way  for  the  whole  of  modern  literature.  The 
learned  Greeks,  flying  from  Constantinople,  were  be- 
ginning to  take  refuge  in  Italy.  Whilst  Leontius  Pi- 
latus,  the  guest  of  Boccaccio,  explained  and  diffused 
the  knowledge  of  the  tongue  of  Homer  and  Plato, 
Greek  artists  brought  over  the  knowledge  of  new 
modes  of  working,  and  communicated  them  to  those 
who,  as  d'Agincourt  justly  observes,  "  had  always  ex- 
isted in  Italy."  Such  was  that  Andrea  Rico  of  Can- 
dia,  the  freshness  and  brilliancy  of  whose  coloring  has 
led  to  the  supposition  that,  before  the  discovery  of  oil- 
painting,  he  had  employed  some  mixture  of  wax  to 
fix  and  brighten  his  colors  in  encaustic.  Art  in  ad- 
vancing assumed  a  position  of  greater  dignity.  In- 
cluded hitherto  as  parts  of  the  ordinary  trade  corpora- 


TIME   OF   THE   RENAISSANCE.  45 

tions,  painters  now —  Italian  and  Greek — first  attached 
themselves  to  the  architects  and  sculptors,  and  then 
succeeded  in  forming  a  separate  corporation,  governed 
by  its  own  statutes,  under  the  name  and  patronage  of 
St.  Luke,  whom  tradition  calls  the  first  Christian 
painter. 

The  statutes  of  the  painters  of  Florence  are  dated 
in  the  year  1349;  those  of  the  painters  of  Siena, 
1355 ;  and  the  other  schools  followed  their  example. 
Then,  whilst  lords,  princes  of  the  church,  and  even 
sovereigns,  no  longer  disdained  to  have  personal,  and 
often  intimate  relations  with  artists,  great  poets,  as 
Dante,  himself  an  artist,  and  Petrarch,  who  had  his 
manuscripts  illustrated,  spread  everywhere  their  fame. 
Thus,  before  the  end  of  the  century,  a  crowd  of  paint- 
ers are  seen  following  in  the  steps  of  the  eminent  mas- 
ters, Cimabue  and  Giotto,  of  whom  Dante  had  sung 
in  his  "  Divina  Commedia."  Buffalmacco,  the  two 
Orcagnas,  Taddeo  Gaddi,  Sirnone  Memmi,  Stefano  of 
Verona,  Gherardo  Stamina,  Andrea  di  Lippo,  con- 
tinued and  brought  the  art  forward  from  the  point 
where  Giotto  had  left  it. 

At  last  the  fifteenth  century  dawned,  and  art  ad- 
vanced towards  perfection.  The  popes,  who  had  re- 
turned to  Rome  in  1378,  had  resumed  their  works  of 
embellishment.  Martin  V.,  Sixtus  IY.,  Benedict  XI., 
Urban  YIIL,  and  especially  the  learned  Nicholas  V., 
who  first  conceived  the  idea  of  the  new  St.  Peter's, 
freely  ordered  works  of  architecture,  statuary,  and  all 
kinds  of  painting,  then  practised  in  fresco,  in  mosaic, 


46  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

in  illumination,  and  finally,  as  soon  as  the  invention 
became  known,  in  oil. 

The  emperors  now  retained  but  a  nominal  domin- 
ion in  Italy,  and  the  expedition  of  Charles  "VIII.  to 
Naples,  lasting  only  one  year,  was  merely  a  passing 
flash  of  foreign  rale  in  the  midst  of  an  age  in  which 
Italy  remained  more  thoroughly  Italian  and  more  free 
than  in  any  other. 

This  period  is  characterised  by  a  rising  emulation 
among  the  different  states  of  which  Italy  was  then 
composed,  each  endeavoring  to  excel  its  rival  in  the 
empire  of  art,  which  recalls  those  ancient  times  when 
the  Peloponnesus,  Attica,  Greece  proper,  the  Isles  of 
the  Archipelago,  and  the  towns  of  Asia  Minor,  dis- 
puted the  pre-eminence  in  high  art.  At  Milan,  the 
Yisconti,  the  Sforza,  particularly  Ludovico  il  Moro, 
whose  court  was  called  Reggia  delle  Muse  /  at  Fer- 
rara,  the  house  of  Este  ;  at  Ravenna,  the  Polentani ;  at 
Yerona,  the  Scala;  at  Bologna,  the  Asinelli ;  at  Yen- 
ice,  the  doges ;  and  lastly,  at  Florence,  the  family  of 
the  Medici,  from  Giovanni  and  Cosmo  I.  to  Lorenzo 
the  Magnificent,  father  of  Leo  X.  ;  all  these  secular 
princes  carried  on  this  noble  strife  of  emulation  with 
the  popes.  The  sciences  were  also  called  in  to  the 
assistance  of  art,  and  fresh  discoveries  helped  it  for- 
ward. In  the  beginning  of  the  century  (from  1410 
to  1420),  the  brothers  Hubert  and  Jan  van  Eyck,  of 
Bruges,  if  they  did  not  invent  oil-painting,  at  least 
first  showed  its  real  value.  Engraving  on  wood  and 
copper  followed  the  invention  of  printing,  and  thence- 


TIME   OF   THE   RENAISSANCE.  47 

forth  insured  immortality  aiid  wide  diffusion  to  the 
art  of  drawing,  as  printing  had  done  to  letters  and  to 
science.  The  groteschi  (the  fragments  of  ancient  dec- 
orative painting  found  in  the  excavations  or  grotte), 
copied,  imitated,  and  multiplied  by  Squarcione  and 
Filippo  Lippi,  strengthened  those  lessons  of  correct 
taste  and  the  knowledge  of  true  beauty  which  the  re- 
mains of  the  statuary  of  the  ancients  had  given. 
-Lastly,  physics  and  mathematics,  which  had  led  to 
the  discovery  of.  a  new  world,  and  soon  afterwards 
led  to  that  of  the  great  laws  of  the  universe,  lent  a 
fraternal  support  to  the  arts.  It  was  indeed  by  the 
help  of  geometry  that  the  illustrious  architect,  Brun- 
ellosclii,  Piero  dell  a  Francesca,  and  Paolo  Uccello, 
created  in  a  manner  the  science  of  perspective. 

Art  was  now  cultivated  with  so  much  passion,  and 
admired  with  such  sincere  enthusiasm,  that  it  was 
employed  in  everything,  and  became  as  common  as 
bread  and  air.  Painting  was  no  longer  confined  to 
the  decoration  of  temples,  of  palaces,  and  public  build- 
ings; it  penetrated  also  the  houses  of  citizens  and  ar- 
tisans, even  for  domestic  objects.  Men  painted  the 
walls  of  their  apartments,  their  movable  furniture,  and 
their  chests  for  clothes;  they  painted  shields  for  war 
and  the  tournament,  and  the  saddles  and  harness  of 
horses.  In  Tuscany  and  the  Roman  states  no  girl 
was  married  without  having  received  her  wedding 
presents  in  a  cassone,  or  large  chest,  painted  by  some 
master,*  or  without  having  a  good  picture,  not  merely 

*  Giotto,  Taddt'O  Gaddi,  Simone  Memnii,  and  Oreagna  did  not  dis- 
dain to  paint  tlioee  Cassoni. 


4:8  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

among  her  treasures,  but  as  part  of  her  dowry,- and 
mentioned  in  the  marriage  contract.  What  a  long 
list  of  great  painters  unrolls  itself  before  us  in  this  the 
fifteenth  century !  Masolino  da  Panicale,  who  sensi- 
bly improved  chiaroscuro ;  the  two  Peselli,  the  two 
Lippi,  Fra  Giovanni  Angelico  da  Fiesole,  Bartolomeo 
della  Gatta,  Benozzo  Gozzoli,  who  painted  in  two 
years  an  entire  wing  of  the  Campo  Santo  in  Pisa ; 
Masaccio,  surpassing  all  who  preceded  him ;  Anto- 
nello  da  Messina,  who  went  to  Flanders  to  discover 
the  secret  of  Jan  van  Eyck,  and  taught  it  to  the  Ital- 
ians ;  Andrea  del  Castagno,  Andrea  del  Yerocchio, 
the  two  Pollajuolos,  Francesco  'Francia,  the  Bellini, 
Ghirlandajo,  and  Perugino.  After  them,  and  towards 
the  close  of  the  fifteenth  century,  we  find  at  the  same 
time  Leonardo  da  Yinci,  Michael  Angelo,  Giorgione, 
Titian,  Eaphael,  Correggio,  Fra  Bartolomeo,  and  An- 
drea del  Sarto.  At  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  cen- 
tury, art  in  all  its  branches  had  obtained  in  Italy  the 
highest  possible  degree  of  perfection ;  and  we  have 
long  since  passed  the  limits  of  our  subject,  which  only 
embraces  historically  the  traditions  by  which  modern 
painting  is  connected  with  ancient  art. 

But  it  is  not  only  in  Italy  that  this  chain  of  tra- 
dition is  found.  It  is  to  be  traced  everywhere,  as 
well  in  the  north  as  in  the  south.  The  art  of  the 
middle  ages  is  not,  any  more  than  the  Italian  art  of 
fhe  renaissance,  of  spontaneous  growth.  It  is  not  a 
tree  without  roots,  a  child  without  ancestors,  another 
proles  sine  matre  creata.  Like  Italian  art,  it  derived 


TIME   OF   THE    KKNAISSANCE.  49 

its  origin  from  the  Byzantines,  wlio  had  preserved, 
though  not  without  modifications,  the  ancient  art  of 
Rome  and  Athens.  There  is  no  doubt  of  the  fact 
that,  in  the  times  of  the  Iconoclastic  emperors,  in 
the  eighth  century,  some  Byzantine  artists  took  ref- 
uge in  Germany,  as  others  did  in  Italy,  and  that  the 
sovereigns  in  their  palaces,  the  bishops  in  their 
cathedrals,  the  abbots  in  their  monasteries,  eagerly 
employed  these  foreigners.  Others  came  in  the  train 
of  the  Greek  Princess  Theophania,  who  married  Otho 
II.  in  the  following  century.  It  is  also  beyond  doubt 
that  the  successors  of  Charlemagne,  who  was  crowned 
Emperor  of  the  West  at  Rome,  frequently  brought 
from  their  states  in  Italy  to  those  in  Germany,  artists 
educated  in  the  Byzantine  schools  of  Venice,  Flor- 
ence, or  Palermo.  Otho  III.,  for  example,  had  for 
his  painter  and  architect  an  Italian  named  Giovanni, 
who  could  only  have  been  a  pupil  of  the  Byzantines 
established  in  Italy.  From  the  eleventh  century, 
when  the  Venetians  and  Normans-  of  Sicily  sent  for 
Greek  mosaic- workers  to  embellish  their  oriental  ba- 
silicas of  St.  Mark  and  Monreale,  all  the  arts  in  Ger- 
many, architecture,  sculpture,  and  painting,  became 
Byzantine. 

At  the  time  of  the  crusades,  the  intercourse  with 
the  East  became  more  active,  and  the  models  more 
common.  The  nobles,  and  the  monks  who  followed 
their  standards,  brought  back  into  every  part  of 
Europe  Byzantine  paintings,  valued  by  them  as  ob- 
jects of  luxury  as  well  as  devotion,  and  notably  those 
4 


50  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

Greek  Madonnas,  so  long  looked  upon  as  the  work 
of  St.  Luke.  Germany  kept  up  this  intercourse  both 
with  the  Greek  empire — through  its  frontier  prov- 
inces and  the  trade  on  the  Danube — and  with  Italy, 
where  the  ever-recurring  quarrels  of  the  popes  and 
the  emperors  lasted  until  the  end  of  the  thirteenth 
century. 

German  art  of  the  fourteenth  century  was  then, 
like  Italian  art,  founded  on  that  of  the  Greeks  of  the 
Eastern  empire,  and,  like  Italian  art,  it  soon  asserted 
its  independence.  It  had  already  thrown  oif  the  tra- 
ditional symbolism  of  Greek  religious  art,  and  had 
aimed  at  the  free  imitation  of  nature  in  the  full  in- 
dependence of  the  artist.  The  German  paintings  of 
the  fourteenth  century  are  still  called  Byzantine ;  but 
merely  because,  before  the  invention  of  oil-painting, 
artists  employed  the  Byzantine  processes  of  painting 
on  a  gold  background,  and  in  distemper,  with  en- 
caustics to  brighten  and  preserve  the  colors.  How- 
ever they  are  free  from  the  shackles  of  symbolism, 
and  enjoy  all  the  liberty  which,  as  we  shall  presently 
find,  the  great  Giotto  and  his  disciples  had  obtained 
in  Italy. 

It  was  in  Bohemia  that  the  first  German  school  ap- 
peared, under  Theodoric  of  Prague,  Nicholas  "Wurrn- 
ser,  Thomas  of  Mutina,  and  several  others,  united  into 
a  brotherhood  in  1348,  by  the  Emperor  Charles  IY., 
the  author  of  the  Golden  Bull.  This  primitive  Bo- 
hemian school  had  only  an  ephemeral  existence ;  it 
was  crushed  almost  in  the  bud.  But  on  the  banks 


TIME   OF   THE    RENAISSANCE.  51 

of  the  Rhine,  at  Cologne,  between  Germany  and 
Flanders,  a  school  was  soon  afterwards  formed  which, 
from  one  stem,  sent  forth  the  two  great  branches  of 
Northern  art.  The  greater  number  of  the  masters 
who  composed  the  school  of  Cologne  at  the  period 
when  artists  were  still  only  artisans  are  unknown. 
Three  names  only  have  escaped  the  general  oblivion : 
that  of  Philip  Kalf,  none  of  whose  works  are  known, 
and  who  represents  no  particular  style,  and  the  much 
more  celebrated  names  of  Meister  Wilhelm  (about 
1380)  and  of  Meister  Stephan  (perhaps  Stephen  Lo- 
thener,  about  1410).  It  is  from  these  that  we  shall 
trace  the  German  schools  to  the  East,  and  the  Flemish- 
Dutch  schools  to  the  West. 

Having  succinctly  traced  the  history  of  art  in 
general  through  the  events  and  changes  of  political 
revolutions,  it  remains  for  us  to  trace  the  particular 
history  of  the  various  material  processes  which  form 
the  links  between  ancient  and  modern  art.  This 
history,  written  with  the  same  brevity  as  the  other, 
but  offering  more  interest  and  variety,  will  complete 
the  demonstration  which  I  have  undertaken  to  fur- 
nish. 

There  are  three  principal  kinds  of  painting  which 
have  come  down  to  us  by  tradition  from  the  ancients, 
and  the  cultivation  of  which,  although  sometimes  in- 
terrupted, has  never  been  really  abandoned :  mosaic, 
illumination,  and  painting  properly  so  called,  whether 
in  fresco,  distemper,  or  in  oil. 


52  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   AET. 

PAINTING   IN   MOSAIC. 

I  have,  I  believe,  proved  that  mosaic  was  really 
the  link  connecting  the  two  epochs  of  painting, 
ancient  and  modern,  and  that  this  branch  of  art  suf- 
fered the  least  from  alteration  and  interruption  ;  that, 
transported  from  Italy  to  Byzantium,  it  was  carried 
on  there  with  more  success  than  any  other  kind  of 
painting,  and  that  the  Greeks  of  the  Eastern  empire, 
in  their  turn,  constantly  furnished  the  Italians  with 
models,  not  only  at  the  period  of  their  expulsion  from 
the  Bosphorus  and  their  return  to  the  West,  but  dur- 
ing the  whole  of  the  intermediate  time. 

Working  in  mosaic  is  very  ancient,  as  ancient  as 
painting  itself.  It  was  cultivated  by  the  Greeks,  who 
taught  it  to  the  Romans.  The  latter  employed  it  so 
much  that  it  became  at  once  an  object  of  art  and  of 
domestic  use.  It  was  at  first  a  simple  pavement, 
called,  according  to  its  material  and  design,  opus 
tesselatum,  opus  sectile,  opus  vermiculatum.  In  the 
latter  style,  by  the  use  of  vitreous  pastes,  the  Romans 
succeeded  in  imitating  paintings,  making  copies  of 
pictures,  and  pictures  themselves.  According  to 
Pliny,  they  adorned  the  pavements,  the  vaults,  and 
the  ceilings  of  their  dwellings  with  mosaics  ;  and 
Csesar,  according  to  Suetonius,  carried  mosaics  with 
him  in  his  military  campaigns  (in  expeditionibus 
tesselata  et  seclilia  circumtulisse).  These  were  the 
opus  tesselatum  and  the  opus  sectile,  which  latter  M. 
Quatremcre  calls  marqueterie  de  marbre.  Some  mo- 


PAINTING   IN    MOSAIC.  55 

saics  of  antiquity  found  in  excavations,  having  been 
thus  preserved  in  the  bosom  of  the  earth  from  the 
devastations  of  men  and  of  time,  suffice  to  teach  us 
to  what  a  degree  of  perfection  the  ancients  carried 
this  branch  of  art.  Sucli  is  the  mosaic  of  Hercules 
at  the  Villa  Albani,  that  of  Perseus  and  Andromeda 
in  the  museum  of  the  Capitol,  that  of  the  Nine  Muses, 
found  at  Santi  Ponci,  in  Spain  (the  ancient  Italica, 
founded  by  the  Scipios),  and  also  the  one,  previously 
mentioned,  of  the  Battle  of  Issus,  at  Pompeii. 

The  Grecian  artists  of  the  Eastern  empire  made 
mosaic  work  their  principal  study.  In  their  hands 
and  in  their  time  it  became  the  most  highly  prized 
style  of  painting ;  they  carried  into  it  the  false  taste 
of  the  period,  which  mistook  the  rich  for  the  beauti- 
ful, and  mixed  gold  with  everything.  Mosaics  were 
made  at  Constantinople  by  slipping  under  the  pieces 
of  glass  gold  and  silver  leaves,  enamels  and  precious 
stones. 

As  for  the  cultivation  of  mosaic  in  Italy  after  the 
destruction  of  the  Roman  empire,  memorials  left  from 
all  ages  prove  that  it  was  never  abandoned  or  inter- 
rupted. In  the  primitive  churches  of  Rome  and 
Ravenna  there  are  still  found  mosaics  of  the  fourth 
and  fifth  centuries,  amongst  others  those  in  Santa 
Maria  Maggiore  at  Rome,  which  represent  the  siege 
of  Jericjio  and  other  scenes  from  the  Old  Testament. 
The  mosaics  in  St.  Paul's  church  beyond  the  walls 
belong  to  the  sixth  century,  as  do  also  the  mosaics  in 
the  churches  of  Torcello,  near  Venice,  and  of  Grado 


56  WONDEKS    OF   ITALIAN  ART. 

in  Illyria,  wliere  the  patriarcli  of  Aquileia  had  fixed 
his  residence  about  the  year  565.  To  the  seventh 
and  eighth  centuries  are  to  he  attributed  several  Ma- 
donnas, also  St.  Agnes,  St.  Euphernia,  a  "Nativity," 
and  a  "  Transfiguration."  To  the  ninth  belongs  the 
famous  mosaic  of  the  Triclinium  which  St.  Leo 
caused  to  be  added  to  the  Lateran  palace  for  the  cele- 
bration of  the  Agape.  This  mosaic  represents  Charle- 
magne", in  the  midst  of  his  court,  receiving  a  stand- 
ard from  the  hands  of  St.  Peter.  Until  this  period 
it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  between  the  work  of  Ital- 
ian artists  and  that  of  the  Greeks.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  during  the  time  between  the  invasion  of  the  bar- 
barians and  the  tenth  century  there  were  many  mosa- 
ics executed  in  Italy  by  Italians,  but  there  is  no 
doubt,  also,  that  a  great  number  were  done  by 
Greeks. 

After  the  tenth  century,  the  darkest  period  of  the 
middle  ages,  the  work  of  the  Grecian  artists  in  Italy 
is  no  longer  conjectural  but  historical.  In  the  elev- 
enth century,  under  the  Doge  Selvo,  the  Venetians 
brought  over  some  Greek  mosaic-workers  to  decorate 
their  Basilica  of  St.  Mark,  the  construction  of  which 
had  been  commenced  by  the  Doge  Orseolo  towards 
the  close  of  the  preceding  century.  Their  principal 
works  were  the  "  Baptism  of  Christ "  and  the  cele- 
brated "  Pala  d'oro."  This  wonderful  work  of  art, 
which  still  remains,  forms  a  kind  of  reredos  over  the 
high  altar  of  the  church.  It  was  made  at  Constanti- 
nople, and  subsequently  enlarged  at  Venice.  It  is 


PAINTING   IN   MOSAIC.  »57 

composed  of  gold  and  silver  plates  coated  with  trans- 
lucent enamel.  It  represents  various  sacred  events 
narrated  in  the  gospel  of  St.  Mark,  surrounded  by 
symmetrical  ornaments,  among  which  are  introduced 
semi-barbarous  Greek  and  Latin  inscriptions.  There 
are  both  on  the  inside  and  the  outside  of  the  same 
basilica  a  number  of  other  mosaics  of  the  same  period 
and  by  the  same  artists.  After  the  taking  of  Con- 
stantinople by  the  Crusaders  (1204:),  the  Greek  mosaic- 
workers  in  Venice  founded  in  that  city  a  corporation 
and  a  great  school,  which  soon  extended  itself  to 
Florence,  where  it  flourished  until  after  the  time  of 
Giotto,  and  furnished  artists  to  the  whole  of  Italy. 

It  is  also  to  the  eleventh  century  that  the  .two 
large  mosaics  in  the  old  church  of  St.  Ambrose  at 
Milan  belong,  one  of  which  represents  the  Saviour 
seated  on  a  golden  throne,  having  St.  Gervasins  and 
St.  Protasius  at  his  side ;  the  other,  an  event  in  the 
life  of  St.  Ambrose.  About  the  same  time  (1066), 
Didier,  abbot  of  Monte  Casino,  sent  for  Greek  work- 
ers in  mosaic  to  execute  embellishments — of  which 
portions  still  remain — for  that  celebrated  monastery. 
When,  a  hundred  years  later,  the  Norman  William, 
surnamed  the  Good,  built  his  famous  church  of  Mon- 
reale,  in  Sicily,  he  employed,  for  the  interior  decora- 
tions, Greek  mosaic-workers,  whom  he  could  easily 
find  in  Palermo  without  sending  to  the  East  for  them. 
In  fact,  when  the  Normans  took  possession  of  Sicily 
under  Tancred  de  Hauteville,  at  the  end  of  the  tenth" 
century,  they  found  a  number  of  Greeks,  who  had 


58  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN  ART. 

been  settled  in  that  country  ever  since  its  conquest 
by  Belisarius  under  Justinian.  As  for  the  mixture 
of  arabesques  with  Byzantine  paintings  in  the  Siculo- 
Norman  churches,  they  are  evidently  imitated  from 
the  works  of  the  Arabians,  who  had  remained  mas- 
ters of  Sicily  for  two  hundred  and  thirty  years  until 
the  Norman  conquest,  and  who  have  left  many  me- 
morials in  that  country. 

During  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  all 
the  mosaics  executed  at  Rome  were  the  work  of  Flor- 
entines, pupils  of  the  Greek  school  at  Venice.  We 
may  mention  among  the  principal  works  of  that  time, 
and  by  those  artists,  those  in  Santa  Maria  Maggiore 
and  in  Santa  Maria  in  Trastevere,  both  of  which  rep- 
resent the  Assumption  of  the  Virgin.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourteenth  century,  after  Andrea  Tafi  and 
Fra  Mino  de  Turrita,  the  Sienese  painter  Duccio  be- 
gan to  biing  mosaic  pavements  into  vogue.  On  this 
account  Vasari  calls  him  the  inventor  of  painting  in 
marble.  It  was  continued  by  his  pupil  Domenico 
Beccaf'umi,  who  was  also  a  painter  and  worker  in 
metals.  At  the  same  period  the  decorations  of  the 
ancient  facade  of  Santa  Maria  Maggiore  were  exe- 
cuted by  the  Florentine  Gaddo  Gaddi,  a  pupil  of 
Cimabue,  himself  a  disciple  of  the  Greeks,  whom  he 
had  seen  paint  in  Santa  Maria  Novella.  At  length 
Giotto  constituted  himself  the  restorer  of  this  mode 
of  painting  by  composing  his  famous  mosaic  of  the 
"  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes,"  usually  called  the 
"  Navicella,"  in  which  we  admire,  not  only  the  well- 


PAINTING   IN    MOSAIC.  59 

arranged  colors  and  the  harmony  of  light  and  shade, 
but  also  a  movement — a  feeling  of  life  and  action 
which  was  unknown  to  the  Greek  workers  in  mosaic. 
After  Giotto,  and  from  the  time  of  his  pupil  Pietro 
Cavalli,  the  conventional  type  of  the  Byzantines  was 
more  and  more  abandoned.  They  had  confined  them- 
selves to  putting  in  the  figures  evenly  on  a  back- 
ground devoid  of  perspective,  and  had  made  mosaics 
simply  architectural  decorations ;  but  now  the  art  fol- 
lowed the  progress  of  painting  step  by  step.  Several 
fine  works  were  executed  in  the  fifteenth  century 
under  the  Popes  Martin  V.,  Nicholas  Y.,  and  Sixtus 
IY.,  even  in  small  towns  like  Siena  and  Orvieto,  and, 
towards  the  close  of  the  century,  the  brothers  Fran- 
cesco and  Yalerio  Zuccati  of  Treviso  began  the  mag- 
nificent modern  decorations  of  St.  Mark.  These  are 
no  longer  the  stiff,  motionless,  conventional  images 
of  the  Byzantines ;  true  painting  is  to  be  found  in 
them,  with  all  its  qualities  and  effects.  The  Zuccati 
executed  these  mosaics  in  the  same  way  that  frescoes 
were  then  done,  by  means  of  colored  cartoons,  fur- 
nished by  the  best  artists,  among  whom  were  includ- 
ed Titian  himself,  Giorgione,  Tintoretto,  and  Palma. 

At  a  somewhat  later  period  we  have  Giuliano  and 
Benedetto  of  Maiano,  uncle  and  nephew,  who — both 
architects — brought  into  fashion  the  art  of  marquetry, 
the  continuation  of  mosaic,  and  carried  it  to  the  high- 
est degree  of  perfection ;  Alesso  Baldovinotto,  a 
painter  in  mosaic,  who  taught  his  art  to  Domenico 
Ghirlandajo,  Michael  Angelo's  master ;  Mariani,  the 


60  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

architect  of  the  Gregorian  chapel ;  the  Cristofori,  who 
boasted  of  being  able  to  produce  on  glass  cubes  as 
many  as  fifteen  thousand  varieties  of  tints,  each 
divided  into  fifty  degrees,  from  the  very  lightest  to 
the  darkest ;  and  lastly,  the  Provenzale,  who  brought 
into  the  face  of  a  portrait  of  Paul  Y.  one  million 
seven  hundred  thousand  pieces,  the  largest  of  which 
was  not  the  size  of  a  millet-seed.  (Annotations  wr 
Vasari,  par  MM.  Jeanron  et  Leclanche.) 

We  must  also  mention  the  famous  copies  of  the 
"  Transfiguration,"  from  Raphael ;  of  "  St.  Jerome," 
from  Domenichino  ;  of  "  St.  Petronilla,"  from  Guer- 
cino,  etc. ;  works  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth 
centuries,  which  now  occupy  in  St.  Peter's  the  places 
of  the  original  pictures  transported  to  the  museum  of 
the  Vatican.  The  authors  of  these  well-known 
mosaics  carried  their  art  to  such  a  state  of  perfection 
as  to  rival  all  that  a  painter  can  do  with  the  colors 
on  his  palette,  even  to  imitating  the  transparency  of 
the  sky  and  water,  the  difference  between  the  beard 
and  hair  of  men,  the  fur  and  feathers  of  animals,  the 
materials  and  colors  of  clothes,  and  the  expression 
of  faces,  in  short,  to  copy  all  the  refinements  of  draw- 
ing and  all  the  charms  of  coloring.  If  in  future  ages, 
and  among  the  calamities  of  a  fresh  invasion  of  bar- 
barians, the  original  pictures  were  to  perish,  these 
admirable  mosaics,  as  durable  as  the  building  which 
contains  them,  would  be  suificient  to  teach  the  men 
of  a  later  age  what  painting  was  at  the  greatest  pe- 
riod of  Italian  art,  and  what  those  masterpieces  were 


PAINTING   IN    MINIATURE.  61 

that  are  here  copied  with  so  much  fidelity  and  com- 
pleteness. 


PAINTING   IN   MINIATURE,  OR   ILLUMINATION    OF 
MANUSCRIPTS. 

If  it  be  true  that  the  pictorial  representation  of 
beings  and  objects  preceded  written  language,  we 
might  carry  back  the  art  of  painting  on  manuscripts 
to  a  very  distant  age,  as  the  first  manuscripts  must 
have  been,  like  hieroglyphics,  nothing  but  a  series  of 
objects  represented  by  drawing.  We  will  not,  how- 
ever, lose  ourselves  in  such 'remote  antiquity,  we  will 
merely  take  up  the  art  when  it  was  separated,  by  the 
brilliancy  and  arrangement  of  the  colors,  from  the 
simple  ornaments  which  had  been  at  first  traced 
either  with  a  pointed  pen  on  tablets  covered  with 
wax,  or  on  papyrus  and  parchment  with  a  reed 
dipped  in  ink. 

After  the  sacred  and  symbolical  writing  of  the 
Egyptians,  we  must  look  to  ancient  Greece  for  the 
origin  of  this  mixture  of  painting  and  manuscript. 
Pliny  says  expressly  that  Parrhasius  painted  on  parch- 
ment (in  membranis).  There  is  no  doubt  that  the 
"  Natural  History  "  of  Aristotle,  which  was  written 
under  the  patronage  of  Alexander,  combined  pictorial 
representation  with  the  text.  There  must  have  been 
books  of  this  kind  in  the  library  of  the  Ptolemies,  at 
Alexandria,  since  under  the  seventh  of  these  princes 
(him  who  is  called  Euergetes  II.),  a  painter  was  at- 
tached to  the  royal  library. 


62  WONDEKS   OF  ITALIAN   ART. 

Again,  the  volumina,  which  Paulus  ^Emilius  and 
Sylla  caused  to  be  borne  before  them  in  triumph 
among  the  spoils  of  Greece,  could  have  been  nothing 
but  these  rich  manuscripts.  At  Kome,  where  the 
example  of  the  Greeks  was  followed,  there  are  pos- 
itive memorials  of  the  mixture  of  painting  with  writ- 
ing. It  is  spoken  of  in  the  Tristia  of  Ovid  (Eleg.  i), 
and  in  Pliny  in  Book  xxviii.  It  is  also  known  that 
Yarro  added  portraits  to  the  "Lives  of  the  Seven 
Hundred  Illustrious  Persons,"  which  he  wrote.  Yit- 
ruvius  had  combined  designs  with  the  descriptions 
contained  in  his  treatise  "  de  Architectures"  designs 
which,  unhappily,  have  not  come  down  to  us.  Sen- 
eca also  says  that  people  liked  to  see  the  portraits  of 
authors  with  their  writings ;  and  Martial  seems  to 
allude  to  this  custom  when  he  thanks  Stertinius, 
"  who  wished  to  place  my  portrait  in  his  library  " 
(qui  imaginem  meam  ponere  in  bibliotheca  sua  voluit.) 
(Lib.  ix.,  prsef.) 

It  is  known  that,  by  a  special  provision,  the  re- 
scripts of  the  emperors  were  traced  in  gold  and  silver 
letters  on  sheets  of  a  purple  color.  From  this,  the 
imperial  scribes  received  the  name  of  chrysographs. 
The  same  method  was  adopted  for  the  sacred  books, 
and  also  for  certain  secular  writings,  which  the  public 
veneration  had  surrounded  with  a  kind  of  religious 
homage.  Thus  the  Empress  Plautina  gave  her  young 
son,  Maximin,  as  soon  as  he  could  read  Greek  fluent- 
ly, a  Homer  written  in  golden  letters,  similar  to  the 
decrees  of  the  emperors.  This  custom  was  very  ancient. 


PAINTING   IN    MINIATURE.  63 

At  a  later  period,  after  simple  embellishments  had  been 
employed,  that  is  to  say,  illuminated  capital  letters, 
margins  adorned  with  designs,  and  arabesques  sur- 
rounding the  text,  painting  at  length  was  introduced 
into  the  manuscripts.  There  was  then,  as  Mont- 
faucon  explains  (Palseog.  Grseca,  lib.  i,  cap.  viii.),  a 
class  of  copyists  who  became  real  artists.  Usually 
two  artists  worked  at  the  same  manuscript,  the  scribe 
and  the  painter  ;  and  to  the  latter  we  may  accord 
this  title,  since  he  himself  claims  it,  as  is  shown  by 
one  whom  Montfaucon  cites,  who  signed  himself 
Georgius  Sta/phinus^  pictor. 

After  the  establishment  of  the  Christian  religion, 
and  especially  after  its  final  triumph  under  Constan- 
tine,  this  art  of  illumination  seems  to  have  been  used 
exclusively  for  the  Scriptures,  the  writings  of  the 
Fathers,  and  liturgical  works.  We  can  trace.it,  as 
we  have  already  done  the  art  of  mosaic,  first  in  the 
lower  empire  and  then  in  Italy.  Illuminating  man- 
uscripts soon  became  the  common  occupation  of  the 
anchorites,  with  whom  the  Christian  countries  of  the 
East  were  quickly  filled,  and  who  gave  to  the  West 
the  example,  together  with  the  precepts  of  the  mon- 
astic life.  In  the  fifth  century  there  was  an  emperor 
surnamed  the  Caligrapher,  because  of  his  taste  for 
illumination.  This  was  Theodosius  the  younger, 
grandson  of  Theodosius  the  Great.  At  a  later  time 
we  find  Theodosius  III.,  who  was  dethroned  in  717, 
occupying  his  leisure  time,  when  he  had  become  a 
a  simple  priest  at  Ephesus,  by  writing  the  Gospels  in 


64  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

golden  letters,  and  embellishing  them  with  paintings. 
During  the  triumph  of  the  Iconoclasts  there  was  a 
time  when  illumination  was  only  carried  on  in  secret, 
and  the  emperors  caused  a  number  of  these  illustrat- 
ed books  to  be  burned.  But  afterwards  the  taste  re- 
turned more  strongly  than  ever,  and  assumed  all  the 
ardor  of  a  long-repressed  religious  feeling.  In  the 
ninth  century,  Basil  the  Macedonian  and  Leo  the 
Wise  applied  themselves  to  revive  the  art  of  illumin- 
ation. It  was  in  the  same  century  that  the  Emperor 
Michael  sent  to  the  Pope  Benedict  III.  a  magnificent 
copy  of  the  Gospels,  enriched  with  gold  and  precious 
stones,  as  well  as  with  admirable  illuminations  by 
the  well-known  pencil  of  the  monk  Lazarus.  In  the 
tenth  century  the  East  made  a  still  more  important 
gift  to  the  West— the  famous  Menology  of  the  Em- 
peror* Basil  II.,  which,  a  long  time  afterwards,  came 
into  the  possession  of  the  Duke  of  Milan,  Ludovico 
Sforza,  then  into  that  of  Paul  Sfondrati,  who  made  a 
present  of  it  to  the  library  of  the  Vatican,  from 
whence  Benedict  XIII.  took  it  in  order  to  publish  a 
fac-simile.  This  Menology  was  a  kind  of  missal, 
which  contained  prayers  for  every  day  in  the  first  six 
months  of  the  year,  and  also  four  hundred  and  thirty 
pictures,  representing  a  number  of  figures  of  animals, 
temples,  houses,  furniture,  arms,  instruments,  and 
architectural  ornaments.  The  greater  part  of  these 
pictures — very  curious  for  the  illustration  they  afford 
of  the  history  of  painting,  as  well  as  for  the  light  they 
throw  on  the  habits  and  costumes  of  the  period — are 


PAINTING   IN    MINIATURE.  65 

signed  by  their  authors,  Pantaleo,  Simeon,  Michael 
Blanchernita,  Georgios,  Men  as,  Simeon  Blanchernita, 
Michael  Micros,  and  Nestor. 

The  custom  of  illuminating  books  lasted  without 
interruption,  in  the  East,  to  the  time  of  the-  last 
emperors — the  Palseologi ;  and  since  the  Menology, 
there  are  magnificent  illuminated  manuscripts  of  all 
periods,  even  of  that  which  immediately  preceded  the 
taking  of  Constantinople  by  the  Turks.  One,  of  the 
eleventh  century,  in  the  library  of  the  Vatican,  con- 
tains drawings  of  surgical  operations.  This  reminds 
us  of  the  Arabs,  who,  not  being  able  to  embellish 
their  manuscripts  with  paintings  properly  so  called, 
and  being  reduced,  as  in  their  mosques,  to  simple 
ornaments,  added  drawings  to  the  text  of  their  scien- 
tific treaties.  There  are,  for  example,  at  least  thirty 
different  instruments  represented  in  the  manuscripts 
of  the  book  of  Al-Faraby,  entitled  "  Elements  of 
Music,"  from  which  the  Maronite  Miguel  Casiri  has 
translated  several  passages  in  his  JBibliotheca  Arcibico- 
esGurialensis. 

"We  have  already  seen  in  Italy  the  first  kings  of 
the  Ostrogoths  encouraging  illumination,  and  Cas- 
siodorus,  the  minister  of  Theodoric,  becoming  a  cal- 
igrapher  in  Calabria.  In  the  ninth  century  an  abbot 
of  Monte  Casino,  the  Frenchman  Bertaire,  spread  the 
taste  for  illumination  in  the  south  of  Italy  ;  whilst  at 
Florence,  many  monks  had  made  themselves  celebrat- 
ed in  the  art  of  illuminating  manuscripts.  Vasari 
mentions  several  of  these  in  the  course  of  his  book. 
5 


66  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    AKT. 

Many  real  painters,  some  of  them  celebrated,  did  not 
disdain  to  use  their  pencil  in  illumination.  Both 
Cimabue  and  Giotto  had  been  thus  occupied  in  their 
youth.  Dante,  a  little  later,  mentions  Oderisi,  of 
Gubbio,  and  Franco,  of  Bologna — 

Onor  di  quell  'arte 

Ch'allurainare  &  chiamata  in  Paris! — 

who  must  have  enjoyed  great  renown,  since  he  re- 
presents them  as  expiating  in  Purgatory  the  pride 
with  which  their  skill  inspired  them.  It  was  Simone 
Memmi,  of  Siena,  who  painted  the  illuminations  in 
the  Yirgil  of  Petrarch,  preserved  in  the  Ambrosian 
Library  at  Milan  ;  and  in  the  fifteenth  century,  when 
this  art  of  illuminating  attained  perfection,  there 
flourished  at  Naples  the  famous  Antonio  Solario, 
surnamed  the  Zingaro  (the  Gipsy),  and  at  Florence, 
Bartolomeo  della  Gatta,  who  devoted  himself  to  the 
same  work.  Under  these  two  masters  Rene  of  Anjon, 
count  of  Provence,  studied  the  art  of  illuminating 
whilst  disputing  the  crown  of  Naples  with  the  princes 
of  Aragon.  Last  came  the  illustrious  Fra  Angelico 
da  Fiesole,  who  left  in  Santa  Maria  del  Fiore  (the 
cathedral  of  Florence)  two  enormous  volumes  filled 
with  illuminations  painted  by  his  hand,  and  of  whom 
it  might  be  said,  even  before  the  execution  of  his 
admirable  pictures  and  monumental  frescoes,  that  he 
had  attained  a  very  high  position  in  the  art  of  illumin- 
ating. At  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  valuable 
illuminated  manuscripts  were  executed  for  the  Sforza, 


PAINTING   IN   FRESCO,    ETC.  67 

the  Gonzaga,  the  Sicilian  princes  of  the  house  of 
Anjou,  those  among  the  kings  of  Aragon  who  were 
also  kings  of  Naples,  for  the  dukes  of  Urbino,  Ferrara, 
Modena,  for  Matthias  Corvinus,  king  of  Hungary, 
Henry  V.  of  England,  Rene  of  Provence,  and  for  the 
Medici  and  the  popes.  Amongst  others  we  may 
distinguish  the  illuminations  of  a  certain  Attavante, 
otherwise  unknown,  those  of  Liberale  of  Verona,  and 
especially  those  of  the  celebrated  Dalmatian,  Giulio 
Clovio,  who  was  buried  with  great  pomp  in  San 
Pietro  in  Yincula. 

For  further  details  on  this  subject,  we  must  con- 
sult the  Histoire  de  PArt  par  les  Monuments,  by 
Seroux  d'Agincourt.  He  makes  known  by  descrip- 
tions and  plates  the  most  celebrated  manuscripts  of 
different  centuries  to  be  found  in  the  library  of  the 
Vatican,  which  now  contains  not  only  the  library  of 
the  popes,  but  also  those  of  the  electors  Palatine,  of 
the  dukes  of  Urbino,  and  of  Queen  Christina  of  Swe- 
den. We  shall  rest  in  the  conviction  that,  if  these 
illuminations  are  not  of  equal  excellence  with  frescoes 
and  pictures,  they  have  at  least  been  better  preserved, 
and  hence,  like  mosaics,  are  memorials  of  periods  of 
which  every  other  painting  has  been  lost,  and  are  of 
great  value  in  marking  and  in  proving  the  traditional 
succession  of  art. 

PAINTING  IN  FRESCO,  IN  DISTEMPER,  AND  IN  OIL. 

We  have  no  means  of  learning  what  were  the  usual 
processes  of  painting  among  the  ancients.  Neither 
examples  of  their  paintings  properly  so  called,  nor  the 


68  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    AKT. 

treatises  of  Parrhasius  and  Apelles  on  the  theory  of 
painting,  remain  to  us ;  and  the  written  descriptions 
are  too  incomplete  and  uncertain  to  enlighten  us 
much  about  pictures  which  have  long  since  perished. 
Although  Pliny  relates  that  there  were  two  schools, 
the  Greek  and  the  Asiatic,  and  that  the  Greek  was 
divided  into  Ionic,  Attic,  and  Sicyonic ;  although  he 
speaks  of  a  very  fine  black  varnish  which  Apelles  put 
on  his  works  when  completed,  and  which,  while 
giving  lustre  to  the  colors,  preserved  them  from 
dust  and  damp ;  although,  further,  he  inquires,  with- 
out however  answering  the  question,  who  was  the  in- 
ventor of  encaustic,  of  painting  by  means  of  wax  and 
fire;  all  this  teaches  us  but  little  of  the  processes 
employed  by  the  painters  of  antiquity.  The  mosaics, 
even  if  copies  of  paintings,  teach  us  nothing  more  on 
this  subject.  We  are  then  reduced  to  the  paintings 
on  walls  found  in  excavations,  which  are  improperly 
called  frescoes,  and  which  may  have  differed  as  much 
from  the  paintings  on  canvas  or  wood  as,  in  modern 
times,  frescoes  cliHer  from  easel-pictures. 

The  fragments  of  Egyptian  painting  preserved  in 
the  subterranean  caverns  of  Thebes  and  Samoun, 
those  of  Assyrian  painting  which  adorned  the  sculp- 
tured slabs  of  ]Srimroud  and  Khorsabad  and  also  the 
remains  of  Grecian  or  Roman  painting  found  in  the 
catacombs,  in  the  baths  and  ruins  of  Herculaneum 
and  Pompeii,  are  paintings  in  distemper,  a  sort  of 
body  color  executed  on  a  prepared  plaster,  with 
which  the  wall  was  covered.  It  is  indeed  easy  to 
recognize  the  fact  that  this  painting  does  not  mix  with 


PAINTING   IN   FRESCO,    ETC.  69 

the  layer  of  lime,  plaster,  or  alabaster,  like  real  fresco, 
and  that  it  may  be  effaced  either  by  scraping  or  even 
by  washing,  without  injuring  the  surface  upon  which 
the  pencil  of  the  artist  has  been  employed.  But 
whatever  the  painting  of  the  ancients  may  have  been, 
it  is  certain,  that  until  the  employment  of  oil-paint- 
ing, and  during  the  whole  intermediate  time,  painters 
only  used  fresco  and  distemper,  or  sometimes  encaust- 
ic. Fresco -pain  ting,  employed  in  the  decoration  of 
edifices  with  a  view  to  its  remaining  as  a  part  of  the 
architecture,  is  that  which  is  executed1  on  a  single 
layer  of  lime  still  fresh  (fresco)  and  damp,  so  that  the 
colors  with  which  this  layer  remains  impregnated, 
dry  at  the  same  time  as  the  material  itself,  and  be- 
come a  part  of  the  plaster  of  the  wall.  Yasari  calls 
this  manner  of  painting  "  the  most  masterly  and  the 
most  beautiful,  because,"  he  says,  "it  consists  in 
completing  in  a  single  day  that  which  in  other  man- 
ners may  be  retouched  at  one's  pleasure."  Is  not 
this  to  take  the  vanquished  difficulty  as  an  advantage? 
Painting  in  distemper  (a  tempera)  is  done  on  a  mov- 
able frame  of  wood  or  canvas,  which  forms  the  pic- 
ture, with  colors  mixed  in  an  adhesive  substance — 
gum  or  the  white  of  an  egg  beaten  up  ;  painting  in 
encaustic  (a  fuoco),  on  a  layer  of  wax  covering  the 
canvas  or  panel.  These  explanations  being  given,  it 
must  be  understood  that  until  the  invention  of  paint- 
ing in  oil,  by  the  term  painting  or  picture  will  be  in- 
dicated simply  a  work  in  distemper  or  in  encaustic. 
The  works  of  ancient  painting  having  all  been 


70  WONDEES    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

destroyed,  it  is  not  astonishing  that  a  great  part  of 
the  works  of  intermediate  ages  should  have  experienc- 
ed the  same  fate,  and  that  we  should  find  it  necessary 
to  have  recourse  to  mosaics  as  well  as  to  illuminations 
in  order  both  to  prove  and  to  mark  clearly  the  grad- 
ual progress  of  art. 

We  have  already  seen  that  immediately  after  the 
victory  of  the  Christian  religion  over  paganism,  the 
new  churches  were  filled  with  pictures.  Between  the 
time  of  Constantine  and  the  eighth  century  the  rage 
for  painting  was  carried  to  an  extreme.  The  walls 
of  the  temples  and  palaces  were  covered  both  inside 
and  out,  as  were  also  even  the  fronts  of  simple  houses. 
The  church  of  St.  Mark  at  Venice  may  still  give  us 
an  idea  of  Byzantine  profusion.  It  was  an  excess  to 
be  regretted,  as  affording  the  Iconoclasts  some  jus- 
tification for  their  opposition  to  all  sacred  art.  But 
after  this  Iconoclastic  interval,  painting  was  again 
restored  to  honor.  All  the  emperors  from  the  ninth 
to  the  twelfth  century  continually  employed  painters 
to  represent  not  only  their  victories  but  also  their 
hunting  exploits,  and  Constantine  Porphyrogenitus, 
himself  a  painter,  found  in  the  exercise  of  this  talent 
an  alleviation  of  his  misfortunes  after  his  fall  from  the 
throne.  The  custom  of  representing  history  in  pic- 
tures was  followed  by  the  courtiers,  who  decorated 
their  dwellings  with  paintings  of  the  warlike  deeds  of 
their  prince.  A  relation  of  Manuel  Comnenus  is 
mentioned  as  having  been  disgraced  for  neglecting 
thus  to  flatter  the  emperor ;  and  the  father  of  Manuel, 


PAINTING   IN   FRESCO,    ETC.  71 

John  Comnenus,  on  his  death-bed  (1143),  said  to  him, 
"  In  the  present  critical  position  of  the  empire,  an  ac- 
tive, enterprising  prince  is  required,  and  not  one  who 
will  supinely  remain  in  his  palaces  like  the  mosaics  and 
paintings  which  cover  the  walls.'1''  In  the  thirteen  th  cen- 
tury the  emperor  Michael  caused  the  principal  achieve- 
ments of  his  reign  to  be  painted,  and  especially  the 
triumph  which,  in  1221,  after  the  custom  of  the 
Roman  consuls,  he  decreed  for  himself.  Unfortu- 
nately the  Turks,  great  destroyers  of  images,  in  obe- 
dience to  the  precepts  of  the  Koran,  soon  effaced  all 
the  decorations  they  found  in  Constantinople;  and 
we  know  the  Greek  works  of  the  eastern  empire  only 
by  fragments  collected  in  western  Europe. 

These  fragments  serve  to  show  that  the  bad  effects 
of  the  Iconoclastic  heresy  long  survived  the  period  of 
its  ascendancy  (726-867),  as  by  an  exaggeration  of 
severe  simplicity,  the  drawing  of  the  nude  was  for  a 
time  entirely  proscribed,  and  the  human  figure  inva- 
riably represented  as  clothed  from  head  to  foot. 

But  the  same  cause  which  for  a  time  depressed  art 
in  the  East,  had  a  contrary  effect  in  Italy,  inasmuch 
as  many  artists,  forbidden  to  exercise  their  profession 
in  their  native  country,  sought  refuge  in  the  West, 
and  settled  in  great  numbers  in  various  parts  of  Italy, 
especially  in  that  part  termed  Magna  Grsecia.  They 
were  eagerly  received  by  their  compatriots,  who, 
since  the  campaigns  of  Belisarius  and  Narses,  had 
dwelt  in  Sicily  and  Naples  ;  by  monasteries,  such  as 
that  of  Monte  Casino,  where  the  celebrated  abbot 


72  WONDEBS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

Didier  offered  them  an  asylum ;  and  by  several 
cities,  where  they  founded  schools  of  mosaic  and 
painting.  Elsewhere,  the  maritime  establishments  of 
the  Yenitians,  the  Pisans,  and  the  Genoese,  in  the 
isles  of  the  Grecian  archipelago  and  on  the  shores  of 
the  Bosphorus,  kept  up  continual  relations  between 
Italy  and  Greece.  Objects  of  art,  especially  pictures, 
became  one  branch  of  their  commerce.  At  the  pe- 
riod of  the  crusades,  the  nobles  and  the  monks  vthoin 
they  had  led  to  the  Holy  Land  brought  back  these 
Greek  pictures  as  memorials  of  their  conquest  and  as 
objects  of  luxury  or  devotion.  It  was  then  that  those 
pictures  of  Christ,  strangely  called  acheiropoietes, 
because  it  was  believed  that  they  had  not  been  done 
by  human  hands,  were  spread  over  Europe,  and  also 
those  Byzantine  Madonnas,  which  are  called  Virgins 
of  St.  Luke,  usually  black  or  brown,  because  of  the 
words  of  Solomon,  nigra  sum  sedformosa  (I  am  black 
but  comely).  These  pictures  the  Greek  generals  had 
caused  to  be  carried  in  front  of  the  imperial  armies 
against  the  Mussulmans,  to  indicate  that  the  Virgin 
Mary  was  their  conductress. 

Erom  the  foundation  of  these  Greek  schools  in 
Italy  arose  a  mixed  school,  which  replaced  the  prim- 
itive Italian  school,  and  which,  in  its  turn,  was  re- 
placed by  the  school  of  the  Renaissance,  again 
become  purely  Italian.  There  were,  therefore,  in 
the  general  history  of  art,  three  principal  inter- 
mediary periods,  from  the  ancients  to  the  moderns : 
one  of  them  Greek  in  Greece  and  Italian  in  Italy ; 


PAINTING   IN   FRESCO,    ETC.  73 

the  second,  Greco-Italian,  the  time  of  mixed  painting ; 
the  third,  entirely  Italian.  Curious  specimens  of 
purely  Greek  painting  have  been  preserved  in  differ- 
ent countries.  For  example,  in  Italy,  some  Madon- 
nas, by  Andrea  Rico  of  Candia,  who  flourished  in  the 
eleventh  century,  and  *i  great  composition  which 
represents  the  Obsequies  of  /St.  Ephrem.  This  pic- 
ture, in  distemper  and  on  wood,  was  painted  at  Con- 
stantinople about  the  same  period  by  Emmanuel 
Transfurnari,  and  brought  into  Italy  by  Francesco 
Squarcione,  that  old  master  who  founded  at  Padua 
the  school  which  produced  Andrea  Mantegna.  It  is 
in  the  Museum  Christianum  of  the  Vatican  library, 
and  is  considered  one  of  the  best  specimens  of  purely 
Grecian  painting.  Its  colors,  heightened  doubtless 
by  some  glazing,  are  so  bright  that  many  have  be- 
lieved it  painted  in  oil — a  manifest  error.  The  later 
Greek  paintings,  until  the  thirteenth  century,  show  a 
sensible  decadence  even  in  form.  We  no  longer  tind 
anything  but  triptychs,  pictures  in  three  parts,  a 
principal  one  in  the  centre,  with  two  wings  which 
close  over  it.  This  shape  remained  in  fashion  a  long 
time,  not  merely  amongst  the  Russians,  who  embraced 
the  Greek  confession,  but,  also  in  Catholic  countries, 
and  especially  in  Flanders. 

In  Italy — as  soon  as  we  arrive  at  this  thirteenth 
century,  and  authentic  memorials  allow  the  history 
of  art  to  be  written  with  exactness — we  see  the  imi- 
tation of  the  Greeks,  and  the  servile  copying  of  their 
works,  practised  by  Italian  artists.  It  is  to  be  traced 


74  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

in  everything,  from  the  ornaments  of  manuscripts, 
and  the  embroidery  of  the  sacred  vestments,  to  mo- 
saic and  poetry.  It  is  seen  in  the  arrangement  of 
compositions,  in  the  attitudes  of  the  figures,  in  the 
drawing  of  every  object,  in  the  colors  used,  and  in 
the  manner  of  using  them.  The  Italians,  who  did  not 
yet  know  how  to  blend  colors  into  each  other,  or  to  pro- 
duce shade,  and  who  knew  none  of  the  secrets  of  chiaro- 
scuro, were  content  to  paint  by  hatching  with  their  pen- 
cil, following  the  operation  which  they  called  tratte- 
giare,  the  simply  placing  of  lines  side  by  side.  The 
earliest  well-known  artists  in  each  of  the  three  most 
ancient  schools — Giunta  of  Pisa,  Guido  of  Siena,  and 
Cimabue  of  Florence — were  little  more  than  imitat- 
ors of  the  Greeks.  We  have  already  mentioned  the 
frescoes  painted  in  the  church  of  Assisi  by  the  Pisan, 
Giunta,  dated  1210.  Let  us  take  the  most  important 
of  them,  the  Crucifixion,  in  order  to  point  out  the 
imitation.  It  is  a  very  large  composition,  of  fine  and 
noble  conception,  but  in  it  the  personages  are  sym- 
metrically arranged,  grave  and  motionless,  as  in  Greek 
compositions,  always  in  strict  submission  to  the  rules 
then  universally  followed  by  painters.  The  coloring, 
much  inferior  to  that  of  the  earlier  examples,  is  com- 
posed only  of  yellowish  and  reddish  tints,  which, 
standing  out  from  a  dark  background,  indicate  the 
flesh  and  the  draperies.  A  thousand  minor  details 
besides  disclose  the  Grecian  origin  of  this  picture; 
thus,  the  figure  of  Christ  is  fastened  to  the  cross  by  four 
nails,  and  His  feet  are  placed  on  a  large  tablet,  serv- 


PAINTING   IN   FRESCO,    ETC.  75 

ing  as  a  support,  according  to  the  constant  custom 
of  the  Greeks ;  the  angels  also  are  clothed  in  long  gar- 
ments, and  their  bodies  terminate  in  empty  clothing, 
under  which  nothing  indicates  either  legs  or  feet ; 
they  end  in  aria,  as  Yasari  says,  another  feature 
wholly  Byzantine. 

After  Giunta  of  Pisa  comes  Guido  of  Siena.  He 
improved  the  style  of  painting  imitated  from  the 
Greeks,  but  still  continued  to  copy  it.  It  is  enough 
to  mention  his  great  picture  in  the  church  of  St. 
Domenico,  at  Siena,  which  bears  the  date  1221.  In 
the  painting  of  the  Virgin,  the  Child,  and  the  choir 
of  angels  grouped  on  a  gold  background,  it  is  impos- 
sible not  to  recognize  the  style,  the  forms,  and  all  the 
peculiarities  of  the  painters  of  Byzantium. 

After  Giunta  and  Guido  comes  Cimabue  of  Flor- 
ence. He  was  also  an  imitator  of  the  Greeks,  more 
intelligent  and  skilful  than  his  predecessors  doubt- 
less, but  still  not  emancipated  from  the  school  of  his 
masters,  and  having  neither  independence  nor  origin- 
ality. Let  any  one  examine  his  famous  Madonna, 
religiously  preserved  in  Santa  Maria  Novella,  at 
Florence;  that  picture  which  Charles  I.  of  Anjou 
went  to  see  in  the  studio  of  the  painter — that  picture 
in  honor  of  which  a  public  fete  was  given,  as  though 
to  welcome  in  it  the  full  revival  of  art.  An  exam- 
ination of  the  frescoes  of  Cimabue  in  the  church,  of 
St.  Francis  at  Assisi,  or  the  Vierge  aux  anges  which  is 
in  the  gallery  of  the  Louvre,  will  convince  the  spec- 
tator, that  although  superior  to  Guido  of  Siena,  and 


WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 


still -more  to  Giunta  of  Pisa,  Cimabue  yet  is  not,  as 
Yasari  terms  him,  the  first  of  Italian  painters,  but, 


MADONNA  AND  INFAKT  CHRIST. 
From  the  picture  by  Cimabue,  in  Santa  Maria  Novella,  at  Florence. 

according  to  the  opinion  of  d'Agincourt  and  Lanzi, 
the  last  of  the  Greek  painters. 


PAINTING   IN   FRESCO,    ETC.  77 

It  is  to  Giotto  (Angiolo,  Angiolotto,  Giotto),  son 
of  Bon  done,  born  at  the  village  of  Vespignano,  in 
1276;  it  is  to  this  little  shepherd-boy,  whom  Cimabue 
found  drawing  his  sheep  on  the  sand  with  a  pointed 
stone,  and  whom,  out  of  charity,  he  took  as  a  student 
— it  is  to  Giotto  we  must  ascribe  the  honor  of  having 
founded  the  modern  Italian  school,  and  the  still  greater 
honor  of  having  been  the  true  promoter  of  the  Renais- 
sance in  all  the  arts.  A  painter,  sculptor,  architect,  engi- 
neer, worker  in  mosaic  and  illuminator,  embracing,  in 
short,  all  the  arts  known  at  that  time,  Giotto  served  as 
a  model  to  the  whole  of  Italy,  through  which  he  travel- 
led from  Avignon — where  he  had  followed  the  Pope 
Clement  V. — to  Naples,  where  he  had  worked  a  long 
time  forRobert  of  Anjou,  surnamed  the  Wise.  At  Luc- 
ca he  made  the  plan  of  the  impregnable  fortress  of  the 
Giusta ;  at  Florence  he  raised  the  Campanile ;  at 
Rome  he  executed  his  celebrated  mosaic  called  the 
Namcella  di  San  Pietro.  But  it  is  the  art  of  paint- 
ing especially  which  is  most  deeply  indebted  to  him. 
Called  from  Padua  to  Rome  by  the  Pope  Boniface 
VIII.,  Giotto,  by  a  happy  inspiration  (per  dono  di 
Dio,  as  Vasari  says),  freed  himself  entirely  from  the 
imitation  of  the  Greeks,  and  copied  only  from  Na- 
ture. Without  being  less  elevated,  his  treatment  of 
the  subjects  was  more  varied,  more  animated,  and 
more  appropriate.  His  drawing  became  simple  and 
natural,  without  conventional  forms,  or  types  settled 
beforehand  and  rigidly  adhered  to ;  his  coloring  also 
improved,  and  showed  tints  at  once  true  and  more 


78  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

deep  and  varied.  He  revived  the  forgotten  art  of 
portrait-painting ;  he  first  dared  to  employ  foreshort- 
ening and  perspective  ;  he  carried  draperies  to  a  per- 
fection which  remains  unsurpassed ;  he  found  expres- 
sion^ to  the  great  astonishment  of  his  contemporaries, 
who  might  have  said  of  him  as  Pliny  of  the  Greek 
Aristides,  "  He  painted  the  soul  and  expressed  hu- 
man feelings."  This  painting,  which  the  men  of  that 
time  called  miraculous,  was  indeed  real  painting — 
art  escaped  from  the  trammels  of  servitude.  Giotto 
also  improved  the  materials  and  the  technical  pro- 
cesses of  his  art,  as  the  preparation  of  colors,  and  of 
the  wooden  panels  and  canvas.  On  viewing  the  prin- 
cipal works  of  Giotto,  dispersed  over  the  whole  of 
Italy — for  example,  the  series  of  pictures  called  the 
Life  and  Death  of  San  Francesco  d'Assisi— we  recog- 
nize how  much  he  surpassed  his  immediate  prede- 
cessors ;  in  his  pictures  we  see  Italian  separating 
itself  from  Greek  art ;  we  understand  and  repeat  the 
magnificent  praises  heaped  on  him  by  Dante,  Pe- 
trarch, Pius  II.,  and  Poliziano,  who  makes  him  say : 
"  Ille  ego  sum  per  quern  pictura  extincta  revixit "  (I  am 
he  through  whom  extinct  painting  has  again  lived). 

The  progress  of  art  in  independence  did  not  relax 
under  the  numerous  pupils  whom  Giotto  left ;  Tad- 
deo  Gaddi,  his  favorite  pupil;  Stefano  Fiorentino, 
who  approached  nearer  the  true  and  real,  from 
whence  he  acquired  the  significant  though  singular 
name  of  the  Ape  of  Nature;  Simone  Memmi,  of 
Siena,  sung  by  Petrarch,  for  whom  he  painted  the 


PAINTING   IN    OIL.  81 

portrait  of  Madonna  Laura ;  Pietro  Laurati,  Ugolino, 
Puccio  Capanna,  Pietro  Cavallini,  Buonainico  Buff- 
almacco,  etc.  The  progress  became  more  marked 
and  the  separation  from  the  Byzantines  more  com- 
plete, when  Andrea  Orcagna  painted  his  great  fresco 
of  "  Hell "  in  Santa  Maria  Novella,  in  Florence,  and, 
in  the  Campo  Santo  of  Pisa,  his  celebrated  and  sin- 
gular picture  of  the  Last  Judgment,  in  which  we 
trace  the  ideas  and  descriptions  of  Dante.  The  Ital- 
ian movement  spread  and  grew  with  the  frescoes  of 
Gherardo  Stamina,  and  with  the  works  of  the  differ- 
ent masters  which  every  town  in  Italy  produced,  as 
if  eager  for  the  development  of  the  restored  art. 
There  were  at  one  time  Franco  and  Yitale,  of  Bo- 
logna ;  Giovanni,  of  Pisa ;  Coll'Antouio  del  Fiore,  of 
Naples ;  Tommaso  and  Barnabeo,  of  Modena ;  Lo- 
renzo, of  Yiterbo;  Carlo  CrivelH,  Marco  Basaiti  and 
the  two  Yivarini,  of  Venice ;  Squarcione,  of  Padua  ; 
Mefozzo,  of  Forli,  who  was  called  the  inventor  of 
foreshortening ;  the  great  Fra  Giovanni,  of  Fiesole, 
whom  the  public  voice  named  Fra  Angelica  ;  Paolo 
Uccello,  of  Florence,  inventor  of  perspective  ;  Pietro 
della  Francesca,  who  improved  this  science  by  the 
application  of  geometry,  etc.  We  come  thus  to  Ma- 
saccio,  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century,  to  the 
Golden  Age. 

Until  now  we  have  only  spoken  of  painting  in 
fresco  or  in  distemper ;  we  now  come  to  the  last  term 
of  tradition,  and  to  true  modern  art — oil-painting. 

We  do  not  in  the  least  know  if  this  art  was  pos- 
6 


82  WONDEKS   OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

sessed  by  the  ancients.  Nothing  authorises  us  to  be- 
lieve that  they  used  it,  and  that  the  employment  of 
oil  in  the  preparation  of  colors  had  been  merely  aban- 
doned during  the  mournful  period  of  the  dark  ages, 
and  thence  forgotten  through  the  breaking  of  the 
chain  of  tradition,  to  be  found  once  more  with  the 
other  discoveries  of  the  Renaissance.  According  to 
the  generally  received  opinion,  it  was  the  brothers 
Hubert  and  Jan  Yan  Eyck,  of  Bruges,  who,  in  the 
commencement  of  the  fifteenth  century,  found  out 
the  secret  of  oil-painting.  No  one  seriously  contests 
the  fact  of  their  having  done  so,  and  even  the  Italians 
Yasari  and  Lanzi  confess  that  the  painters  in  their 
country  learnt  the  process  from  the  Fleming,  John 
of  Bruges  (Jan  Yan  Eyck).  It  does  not  however  fol- 
low that  the  invention  was  at  tirst  so  perfect  that  no 
one  was  able  to  improve  upon  it,  or  that  no  one  could 
have  paved  the  way  by  preceding  experiments.  It 
has  indeed  been  proved,  by  quotations  and  formal 
testimony,  amongst  others  by  the  treatises  of  the 
painter-monk  Heraclius  in  the  tenth  century,  of  the 
German  monk  Roger,  surnamed  Theophilus,  in  the 
twelfth,  and  of  the  Italian  Cennino  di  Andrea  Oen- 
nini,  in  the  thirteenth — that  the  brothers  Yan  Eyck 
had  rather  the  merit  of  a  practical  application  of  the 
process  than  that  of  the  invention  itself. 

Lanzi  seems  to  have  explained  perfectly  well 
what  was  really  the  invention  of  the  illustrious  Flem- 
ish painter.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  much  before  his 
time,  the  use  of  oil  was  known  in  painting ;  but  the 


PAINTING    IN    OIL.  83 

manner  of  employing  it  was  imperfect,  being  very 
slow  and  difficult.  According  to  the  old  method  only 
one  color  could  be  placed  on  the  canvas  or  the  panel 
at  a  time,  and  to  add  a  second,  it  was  necessary  to 
wait  until  the  first  had  dried  in  the  sun,  which  was, 
according  to  the  same  Theophilus,  "  too  long  and 
tiresome  for  figures."  It  is  easy  then  to  understand 
why  distemper  and  encaustics  were  preferred.  John 
of  Bruges,  who  at  first  did  as  other  painters,  having 
one  day,  as  tradition  says,  placed  one  of  his  pictures 
to  dry  in  the  sun,  the  wooden  panel  burst  from  the 
excessive  heat.  This  accident  induced  him,  with  the 
help  of  his  elder  brother,  to  seek  some  means  of  dry- 
ing his  colors  alone  and  without  artificial  help.  He 
tried  numerous  experiments  with  linseed  oil,  and 
succeeded  at  last  in  making  a  varnish,  which,  accord- 
ing to  Yasari,  "  once  dry,  no  longer  fears  water, 
brightens  the  colors,  renders  them  more  transparent, 
and  blends  them  admirably." 

From  the  dates  of  the 'most  ancient  works  of  Jan 
Yan  Eyck,  preserved  at  Bruges,  Ghent,  and  Antwerp, 
we  may  conjecture  that  he  made  or  completed  his 
discovery  between  1410  and  1420.  But  at  this  period 
communication  was  difficult,  especially  between  the 
countries  of  the  North  and  those  of  the  South.  It 
was  only  about  the  year  1442,  that  the  king  of  Naples, 
Alphonso  Y.,  received  a  picture  by  John  of  Bruges 
(Jan  Yan  Eyck),  since  lost,  but  believed  to  have  been 
an  Adoration  of  the  Magi.  It  is  known  that  another 
picture  by  Yan  Eyck  came  to  the  duke  of  Urbino, 


84  WONDEKS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

Frederick  II.,  and  another — a  St.  Jerome — to  Lorenzo 
de  Medici.  The  sight  of  them  caused  general  admira- 
tion, and  it  was  not  long  before  the  technical  methods 
employed  were  discovered  and  practised  throughout 
Italy. 

According  to  Vasari,  a  certain  Antonello  of  Mes- 
sina having  seen  the  picture  at  Naples,  set  out  for 
Flanders  in  the  hope  of  penetrating  the  secret  of  these 
new  processes.  He  obtained  the  knowledge  he  sought 
by  giving  a  large  number  of  Italian  drawings  in  ex- 
change. He  could  not  have  learnt  it  from  Van  Eyck 
himself,  as  has  long  been  thought,  as  we  now  know 
that  he  died  in  1441,  but  it  was  doubtless  from  one 
of  his  pupils,  possibly  from  Rogier  Yan  der  Weyden, 
who  is  called  Roger  of  Bruges.  On  his  return  to 
Italy,  where  he  soon  became  celebrated,  Antonello  of 
Messina  communicated  his  discovery  to  his  intimate 
friend  Domenico  Veneziano,  who  after  having  executed 
several  works  at  Loretto  and  Perugia,  established  him- 
self at  Florence  about  the  year  1460.  Without  being 
a  great  artist,  Domenico  found  in  his  secret  a  means 
of  incontestable  superiority.  He  excited  the  astonish- 
ment of  the  public  and  the  jealousy  of  his  rivals.  The 
most  formidable  of  the  latter  was  Andrea  del  Castagno, 
a  man  of  great  talent  but,  says  Yasari,  of  a  low  and 
ferocious  character.  Through  a  pretended  friendship 
he  persuaded  Domenico  to  teach  him  his  secret ;  then, 
in  order  to  possess  it  alone,  he  assassinated  the  un- 
fortunate Yenetian.  This  atrocious  crime,  of  which 
many  innocent  people  were  suspected,  remained  un- 


PAINTING    IN    OIL.  85 

punished.  Andrea  del  Castagno  only  revealed  it  on 
his  death-bed.  But,  as  if  in  expiation  of  the  infamous 
way  in  which  he  had  obtained  the  secret  of  Domenico, 
he  made  no  mystery  of  it,  and  announced  it  openly 
at  the  same  time  that  he  proved  its  tru'.h  by  his  works. 

Recent  research  has  thrown  great  doubt  on  the 
whole  of  this  account  by  Vasari ;  indeed,  the  crime 
alleged  against  Andrea  del  Castagno  has  been  dis- 
proved by  the  discovery  that  Dornenico  Yeneziano 
survived  him  four  years. 

During  the  last  quarter  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
the  art  of  painting  in  oil  was  practised  by  all  the  great 
masters  of  the  time,  including  Pollaiuolo,  Ghirlandaio, 
Perugino,  and  Andrea  Yerocchio.  They  transmitted 
it  to  their  illustrious  disciples,  Leonardo  da  Yinci, 
Michael  Angelo,  and  Raphael,  who  not  only  form  the 
last  link  in  the  chain  of  tradition,  but  at  the  same 
time  indicate  the  highest  point  which  art  could  reach. 

Here  then,  the  proofs  I  had  undertaken  to  furnish, 
and  which  I  think  complete,  naturally  terminate;  a 
traditional  chain  of  evidence  attaches  the  painting  of 
the  moderns  to  that  of  the  ancients.  But  I  foresee 
one  serious  objection.  It  will  be  said,  "  In  speaking 
just  now  of  Giotto,  you  announced  that  he  depicted 
expression,  which  made  his  works  such  a  subject  of 
wonder  to  his  contemporaries,  and  you  added  :  '  This 
was  indeed  true  painting.'  You  should  then  have 
proved  the  tradition  not  merely  in  the  material  pro- 
cesses of  the  art  of  painting,  in  its  cultivation  or  even 
in  its  existence,  but  also  in  that  superior  part  which 


86  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

you  call  expression.     Has  that  coine  down  traditional- 
ly from  the  Greeks  to  ourselves  ?  " 

To  this  question  I  unhesitatingly  reply  in  the 
negative.  No,  the  highest  quality  of  painting  has  not 
been  transmitted  from  the  Grecian  artists  to  those  of 
the  Renaissance.  Dying  with  the  former,  it  disap- 
peared entirely  during  the  whole  intermediate  period, 
literally  to  revive  with  the  latter.  But  I  must  add, 
that  this  quality,  being  individual  and  belonging 
personally  to  the  artist,  could  not  be  transmitted  by 
tradition,  which  can  only  hand  down  to  posterity 
certain  material  processes  and  peculiarities  in  style  of 
the  different  schools.  It  is  exactly  this  which  forms 
the  radical  difference  between  the  sciences  and  arts. 
The  sciences  can  be  transmitted  entire,  and  he  who 
possesses  any  knowledge  of  mathematics,  may  easily 
become  possessed  of  all  the  knowledge  collected  from 
Euclid  to  Laplace.  The  arts  can  only  be  communi- 
cated through  personal  qualities,  and  Raphael  himself 
could  only  impart  to  his  pupils  the  knowledge  of  his 
method.  The  secret  of  being  himself  died  with  him. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  ITALIAN  SCHOOLS. 

IN  a  history  of  modern  art,  Italy  incontestably 
claims  the  first  rank.  At  the  period  of  the  Renais- 
sance, notwithstanding  the  aspirations  of  Dante,  re- 
newed by  Machiavelli,  Italy  was  not  united,  but  was 
divided  into  a  number  of  states ;  every  state  had  its 
own  school,  and  hence  every  school  requires  a  separate 
history.  We  shall  conform  to  this  necessity  by  follow- 
ing the  usual  division,  and  shall  begin  with  Florence ; 
for  in  a  history  of  Italian  art  it  is  to  Florence  that  the 
first  rank  as  incontestably  belongs. 

TUSCAN  OR  FLORENTINE  SCHOOL. 

We  have  just  seen  that  the  Tuscan  Giotto  (1276- 
1334)  was  the  great  promoter  of  the  revival  in  all  the 
arts.  After  him,  the  most  illustrious  name  found  in 
the  annals  of  Tuscan  painting  is  that  of  the  monk 
Guido  di  Pietro,  born  in  the  town  of  Yecchio  in  1387 
(he  died  at  Rome  in  1455),  who  took  the  name  of  Fra 
Giovanni  da  Fiesole  when  he  entered  the  order  of 
Dominicans  in  that  town.  Public  admiration  gave 


WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 


him,  however,  even  during  his  life,  the  title  of  Fro, 
JBeato  Angelica  (as  Morales,  in  Spain,  was  called  the 
Divine),  for  having  so  admirably  expressed  on  canvas 
the  ardor  of  Christian  feelings  and  the  ecstasy  of  the 
blessed.  "  His  figures  are  sonls  only,"  says,  with 
justice,  M.  du  Pays.  Modest,  simple,  pious,  chari- 
table, sober,  and  chaste,  Fra  Angelieo  set  a  good 
example  in  virtue  as  well  as  in  talent.  He  refused 
the  archbishopric  of  Florence,  and  caused  a  poor 
monk  in  his  convent  to  be  nominated  by  Nicholas  V. 
instead  of  himself.  A  very  laborious  and  fertile 
painter  of  altar-screens,  frescoes,  pictures,  and  illumi- 
nations, he  never  painted  without  a  special  prayer,  nor 
commenced  any  work  without  the  permission  of  his 
prior  ;  and  he  never  retouched  any  of  his  works,  say- 
ing that  God  wished  them  as  they  were.  After  Fra 
Angelieo,  his  pupil  Benozzo  Gozzoli  alone  remained 
faithful  to  strictly  religious  and  mystic  art,  without 
any  intermixture  from  pagan  antiquity. 

The  date  of  the  birth  and  death  of  Fra  Angelieo 
show  sufficiently  that  he  painted  in  distemper,  for  he 
could  only  have  known  oil-painting  at  the  close  of  his 
life,  at  an  age  when  an  artist  no  longer  changes  his 
processes.  Among  the  best  of  the  numerous  works 
he  has  left  is  his  Descent  from-  the  Cross,  which  is  to 
be  found  in  Florence,  not  in  the  Museum  of  the  Uffizi, 
or  in  that  of  the  Pitti  palace,  but  in  the  Academy  of 
the  Fine  Arts,  opened  in  1784  by  the  grand  duke 
Pietro  Leopoldo,  and  which  contains  a  rich  collection 
of  the  curiosities  of  Italian  art  between  its  infancy 


CORONATION    OF   THE    VIRGIN.— BY    FKA.   ANOELICO. 
In  thf.  Museum  of  the  Louvrt,  Paris. 


FLORENTINE    SCHOOL.  91 

and  maturity.  But  there  is  in  the  Louvre  one  of  the 
finest  works  of  the  Angelic  Painter.  The  Coronation 
of  the  Virgin  is  a  large  composition  which  contains 
more  than  fifty  figures,  and  is  surrounded  besides  by 
seven  medallions,  in  which  the  miracles  of  St.Dominic 
are  represented,  he  being  the  patron  saint  of  the 
convent  for  which  the  picture  was  painted.  It  is  of 
this  noble  work  that  Yasari  says,  "  Fra  Giovanni  sur- 
passed himself  in  a  picture  ...  in  which  Jesus  Christ 
crowns  the  Yirgin  in  the  midst  of  a  choir  of  angels 
and  saints  ...  so  varied  in  attitude  and  expression, 
that  one  feels  an  infinite  pleasure  and  delight  in  re- 
garding them.  It  seems  as  if  the  happy  souls  can 
look  no  otherwise  in  heaven ;  for  all  the  saints,  male 
and  female,  assembled  here,  have  not  only  life  and 
expression  most  delicately  and  truly  rendered,  but  the 
coloring  of  the  whole  work  seems  done  by  the  hand 
of  a  saint  or  angel  like  themselves.  As  for  myself,  I 
can  affirm  with  truth  that  I  never  see  this  work  with- 
out finding  in  it  something  new,  nor  can  I  ever  satisfy 
myself  with  a  sight  of  it,  or  have  enough  of  beholding 
it."  This  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  about  which 
Auguste  Schlegel  has  written  a  whole  volume,  and 
which  M.  Paul  Mantz  rightly  calls  "  an  enormous 
miniature,"  was  placed  for  a  long  time  in  the  church 
of  San  Domenico  at  Fiesole,  and  .in  some  degree 
worshipped  as  a  holy  relic  of  its  saintly  author. 

The  son  of  a  poor  shoemaker  comes  afterwards  in 
the  list  of  great  names  (1407-1443),  Tommaso  Guidi 
da  San  Giovanni,  better  known  as  Masaccio  (the 


92  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   AET. 

sloven).  He  differs  entirely  from  the  monk  of  Fie- 
sole.  His  figures  are  not  souls,  but  real  bodies,  Srm 
and  exact  in  their  contours  and  in  their  movements. 
Masaccio  drew  in  the  style  of  Michael  Angel o,  and 
with  his  force.  Unfortunately,  dying  young,  he  left 
few  works.  Amongst  all  the  museums  of  Europe, 
that  of  Munich  alone  possesses  works  of  Masaccio,* 
a  Monti's  Head  in  fresco,  a  St.  Antony  of  Padua,  in 
distemper  and  on  wood,  and  the  portrait  of  the  paint- 
.er,  wearing  the  red  cap  of  the  Florentines,  like  Dante 
and  Petrarch.  Even  at  Florence,  the  museum  of  the 
Uffizi  can  only  show  an  astonishing  Head  of  an  Old 
Man,  painted  by  Masaccio  on  a  tile.  It  is  at  the 
church  del  Carmine  in  that  town  that  we  can  study 
and  admire  him.  It  is  there  that  his  great  frescoes 
are  to  be  seen  ;  the  Raising  of  a  Dead  Child  by  St. 
Peter,  and  the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Peter.  The  mural 
pictures  in  the  chapel  of  the  Brancaoci,  also  by  Ma- 
saccio, formed  a  common  study  for  all  the  masters 
born  or  residing  at  Florence,  from  the  time  of  Fra 
Angelico  to  that  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Michael  An- 
gelo,  Raphael,  and  Andrea  del  Sarto.  What  higher 
praise  could  we  give  than  the  names  of  such  volun- 
tary disciples  ? 

In  the  hasty  sketch  which  the  limits  of  our  book 
impose  on  ns,  we  can  only  find  room  for  the  highest 
artists,  universally  known  and  celebrated,  and  recog- 
nised as  the  divinities  of  painting.  When  we  come 

*  In  the  National  Gallery  is  his  own  portrait  bj  himself  (No.  626.) 


31 


o  « 

»  « 

<J  I 

tf  ^ 

13  -S 


FLORENTINE   SCHOOL.  95 

to  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century,  the  period 
immediately  preceding  these  "•  divinities  of  art,"  and 
which  was  that  of  their  teachers,  we  are  obliged  to 
make  a  selection  only  from  among  these  masters,  so 
especially  great  through  their  pupils  ;  and,  passing 
by  with  regret  Filippo  Lippi,  Antonio  Pollaiuolo, 
Lorenzo  da  Credi,  who  exercised  an  influence  over 
the  whole  school,  Andrea  del  Verocchio,  who  formed 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  Domenico  Ghirlandaio,  who 
formed  Michael  Angelo,  we  halt  at  Perugino,  the 
master  of  Raphael. 

Pietro  Yanucci  (1446-1524),  of  Perugia,  whence 
he  derived  his  surname,  came  to  Florence  when  very 
young,  and  so  poor,  that  he  slept  in  a  chest  for  lack 
of  a  bed.  But  he  made  himself  known,  and  won 
such  eclat,  that  he  was  soon  in  a  position  to  open  a 
school,  where  the  father  of  Raphael,  Giovanni  Sanzio, 
brought  him  his  child  ;  the  modest  painter  and  wise 
father  not  considering  himself  capable  of  instructing 
or  worthy  of  directing  such  precocious  genius.  Peru- 
gino counted  also  among  his  disciples  Pinturicchio, 
II  Bacchiata,  Lo  Spagna,  Geriiio  de  Pistoia,  and  that 
Andrea  Luigi  of  Assisi,  surnamed  1'Ingegno,  who  at 
eighteen  years  of  age  was,  according  to  Vasari,  called 
the  rival  of  Raphael,  but  who  became  blind  before 
he  had  attained  the  age  for  great  works,  or  rather,  as 
documentary  evidence  seems  to  indicate,  who  left  art 
for  civic  employment. 

Perugino  was  one  of  the  first  painters  sent  for  to 
Rome  by  Sixtus  IY.,  who  entrusted  him  with  a  part 


96  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

of  the  paintings  to  decorate  the  chapel  which  bears 
the  name  of  that  pontiff  (the  Sistine).  He  has  left 
in  it  one  of  his  largest  and  most  beautiful  frescoes, 
/St.  Peter  receiving  the  Keys.  In  Florence  there  is  in 
the  Pitti  palace  a  magnificent  Entombment}  at  Rome, 
in  the  museum  of  the  Vatican,  a  Resurrection,  in 
which  lie  has,  it  is  said,  introduced  his  much-loved 
pupil,  while  still  a  youth,  under  the  form  of  the  sleep- 
ing soldier,  and  himself  under  that  of  the  soldier  who 
is  running  off  in  fear  ;  and  at  Naples  there  is  in  the 
Museum  degli  Studi  an  Eternal  Father  between  four 
cherubim.  For  a  long  time  the  Louvre  possessed 
only  a  simple  sketch  by  Perugino,  the  Combat  of 
Chastity  and  Love,  painted  in  distemper,  although 
dated  1505,  because,  as  Perugino  himself  says  in  the 
letter  sent  with  it,  a  picture  by  Andrea  Mantegna,  to 
which  his  was  to  be  a  pendant,  was  painted  by  the 
same  process  ;  a  remarkable  proof  of  the  persistent 
employment  of  distemper  long  after  the  generally- 
spread  knowledge  of  oil-painting.  But  the  Louvre 
now  boasts  paintings  more  worthy  of  Perugino,  as  a 
Nativity,  a  Virgin  in  Glory  worshipped  by  St.  Rosa, 
St.  Catherine,  and  Two  Angels,  and  lastly,  a  Ma- 
donna and  Child  between  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Cath- 
erine, remarkable  for  the  reverential  style,  the  charm- 
ing grace,  and  the  exquisite  color. 

If  however  we  wish  to  know  Perugino  well  out 
of  Italy,  we  must  see  his  pictures  in 'Germany  and  in 
England.  And  first,  there  are  at  Berlin  two  Madon- 
nas with  a  landscape  background.  Notwithstanding 


FLOKENTTNE    SCHOOL.  97 

the  care  taken  to  assign  them  to  Raphael  when  still 
in  the  school  of  Ferugino,  there  seems  no  doubt  to 
me  that  they  are  both  the  work  of  Perugino  himself. 

At  Vienna,  at  the  Belvedere  Gallery,  Perugino 
holds  the  first  place  in  the  Roman  hall ;  his  Madonna 
between  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  /St.  Jerome  and  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  dated  1493,  is  one  of  his  largest 
and  most  admirable  compositions.  It  is  to  be  regret- 
ted that  it  should  have  been  cleaned  and  touched  up 
so  often.  Munich  is  still  richer  than  either  Vienna  or 
Berlin.  It  possesses  a  half-length  Madonna  standing 
out  from  a  clear  sky ;  a  Virgin  kneeling  between  St. 
Nicholas  and  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  and  adoring 
the  Infant  Saviour,  and  the  Appearance  of  the  Vir- 
gin to  St.  Bernard ;  two  angels  accompany  the 
mother  of  the  Saviour,  and  two  saints  are  with  St. 
Bernard.  These  three  remarkable  works,  in  perfect 
preservation,  and  of  large  size  for  easel-pictures  by 
Perugino,  attain  the  utmost  excellence  of  his  style,  so 
sweet,  so  tender,  so  certain  to  soften  and  to  charm  the 
beholder.  The  Appearance  of  the  Virgin  to  St.  Ber- 
nard is  a  surpassingly  beautiful  picture,  and  Raphael 
himself  has,  in  the  simple  religious  style,  achieved 
nothing  finer.  It  is  before  the  paintings  of  Perugino 
that  we  see  clearly  how  much  a  pupil  owes  to  his 
master,  and  that  the  truth  of  the  saying  is  verified, 
that  great  geniuses  are  only  a  complete  summary  of 
their  forerunners  and  contemporaries. 

In  London,  the  National  Gallery  can  show  with 
pride  a  picture  which  Vasari  declares  to  be  a  chef- 


98  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

d'ceuvre  of  the  old  master  of  Perugia.  It  is  a  trip- 
tych :  in  the  centre  is  the  Holy  Family  ;  to  the  left, 
the  Archangel  Michael  in  full  armor ;  to  the  right, 
the  archangel  Raphael  holding  the  young  Tobit  by 
the  hand.  Vasari  is  right ;  it  would  be  difficult  to 
find  in  all  the  works  of  Peru gi no  anything  superior 
to  this.  It  is  in  perfect  preservation,  and  unites  in 
itself  every  kind  of  beauty.  Several  parts  of  this 
triple  picture — for  example,  the  young  Tobit,  or  the 
group  of  the  Madonna  and  Child — resemble  the  ear- 
liest works  of  Raphael  to  such  a  degree  that  many 
have  supposed  that  the  master  must  have  been  helped 
by  the  pupil,  who  would  be  thus  in  part  the  painter 
of  this  masterpiece.  I  do  not  think  so  ;  it  appears  to 
me  that  it  is  the  work  of  Perugino  alone.  It  is  how- 
ever probable  that  this  picture  belongs  to  a  more  ad- 
vanced period  of  his  life,  when  Perugino,  who  sur- 
vived his  pupil  four  years,  might  have  profited  by  his 
example,  and  improved  his  primitive  style  under  the 
influence  of  Raphael.  Yanucci  would  thus  have 
ceased  to  be  the  master  of  Raphael,  and  have  become 
his  disciple.  This  mutual  help,  this  mutual  teaching, 
producing  a  reaction  in  style,  is  often  seen  in  the  .his- 
tory of  art ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  same  phenome- 
non— if  we  may  so  call  it— was  taking  place  at  Yen- 
ice  between  Bellini  and  Giorgione. 

We  have  now  come  to  the  great  Leonardo  da 
Yinci  (1452-1519),  the  natural  son  of  a  notary  of 
Yinci.  A  painter,  skilful  draughtsman,  and  even 
caricaturist,  a  sculptor  and  architect,  an  engineer  and 


THE    VIUGIN   AMONG    THE    ROCKS   ( Viergt  aux  Rockers) 

I$Y   LEONARDO    DA    VINCI. 
In  the  Museum  of  the  Louvre,  Paris. 


FLORENTINE    SCHOOL.  101 

mechanician,  learned  in  mathematics,  physics,  astron- 
omy, anatomy,  and  natural  history,  a  good  musician, 
making  verses  with  the  facility  of  an  improvisatore, 
writing  well  on  every  subject  which  interested  him, 
expert  also  in  all  the  exercises  of  strength  or  skill,  in 
short  a  universal  genius,  and  "  all-powerful  in  every- 
thing," Leonardo  da  Vinci  devoted  to  painting  a  small 
share  of  his  time  and  labor.  He  moreover  finished 
his  works  with  the  care,  patience,  and  love  of  a  mod- 
est and  even  timid  artist,  of  one  who  is  never  com- 
pletely satisfied  with  himself,  who  dreams  of  and 
seeks  passionately  after  supreme  beauty,  who  longs, 
as  Yasari  says,  "  to  heap  excellence  on  excellence  and 
perfection  on  perfection."  Leonardo  traced  in  this 
line  the  rule  for  his  labors  as  for  his  conduct. 

Vogli  sempre  poter  quel  che  tu  debbi. 

These  two  reasons  would  be  sufficient  to  render  the 
works  of  this  master  as  rare  as  they  are  precious. 
Unfortunately  several  of  those  which  he  left  have 
nearly  perished  from  the  effect  of  time. 

In  Paris  are  but  five  paintings  by  his  hand,  al- 
though da  Yinci  spent  the  four  last  years  of  his  life 
in  France,  and  ended,  at  Amboise,  almost  in  the  arms 
of  Francis  I.,  his  prolonged  life,  filled  with  so  many 
different  labors.  In  the  half-length  portrait  of  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  the  saint  is  represented  as  resem- 
bling rather  a  young,  delicate  woman,  than  the  rough 
preacher  of  the  desert,  the  ascetic  feeding  on  locusts. 
But,  as  this  same  fault  of  effeminacy  is  found  in  the 


102  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

St.  John  by  Raphael,  which  is  in  the  Tribune  of  the 
Uffizi  Gallery  at  Florence,  it  is  evident  that  the  con- 
ventional ideas  of  the  Baptist  were  not,  at  that  pe- 
riod, in  accordance  with  those  we  gather  from  the 
Gospel  narrative.  The  Madonna  called  the  Vierge 
aux  Rockers,  already  much  decayed,  will  soon  be 
known  only  through  engravings  and  copies.  The 
authenticity  of  this  Madonna,  as  a  work  of  Leonardo, 
is  denied  by  some  connoisseurs,  and  it  is  generally 
supposed  that  a  portion  only  is  by  his  hand.  St. 
Anne,  with  the  Virgin  and  Child,  though  an  authen- 
tic work  and  really  a  fine  one,  is  in  some  parts  little 
more  than  a  sketch,  and  has  suffered  much  injury  ;  it 
is,  I  confess,  more  precious  from  the  delicacy  of  the 
work  than  from  the  dignity  and  nobility  of  the  style. 
"We  may  even  venture  to  find  a  little  fault  with  the 
strange  affectation  of  the  attitudes  and  arrangement. 
There  remain  two  portraits  of  women.  One  is  called 
La  Belle  Ferronniere,  because  it  is  thought  to  repre- 
sent the  last  mistress  of  Francis  I.,  the  wife  of  that 
iron  merchant  (ferronnier)  who  avenged  himself  so 
cruelly  for  the  wrong  done  him  by  the  king.  It  is 
from  the  title  assigned  to  this  portrait  that  ladies  have 
given  the  name  ferroniere  to  a  jewel  worn  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  forehead  and  fastened  by  a  ribbon  behind 
the  head.  Others  suppose  this  portrait  to  be  that  of 
a  duchess  of  Mantua,  or  of  the  celebrated  mistress  of 
Ludovico  Sforza,  Lucrezia  Crivelli.  It  seems  certain 
that  this  cannot  be  the  portrait  of  the  Ferroniere, 
inasmuch  as  Leonardo  d  i  Vinci,  who  came  into 


FLORENTINE   SCHOOL.  103 

France  weak  and  ill,  did  not  paint  a  single  picture  in 
that  country,  while  Francis  I.  died  in  1547,  that  is  to 
say,  twenty-eight  years  after  da  Vinci.  '  The  fifth 
picture  by  Leonardo  in  the  Louvre,  and  the  authen- 
ticity of  which  is  beyond  doubt,  is  known  as  La 
JBelle  Jooonde  (Monna  Lisa,  the  wife  of  Francesco  del 
Giocondo).  This  portrait,  at  which  it  is  said  the 
painter  worked  for  four  years  without  having  finished 
it  to  his  own  satisfaction,  is  rightly  considered  one  of 
the  chefs-d'oeuvre  of  this  master  and  of  his  style. 
We  may  find  in  Vasari  the  loving  description  and  the 
high  praise  he  bestows  on  this  picture ;  "  rather 
divine  than  human,  as  lifelike  as  nature  itself  .  .  . 
not  painting,  but  the  despair  of  other  painters." 
"  This  picture  attracts  me,"  adds  M.  Michelet  (la  Re- 
naissance) ;  "  it  fascinates  and  absorbs  me  ;  I  go  to  it 
in  spite  of  myself,  as  the  bird  is  drawn  to  the  ser- 
pent." "  La  Joconde  "  is  worthy  of  representing  to 
us  this  great  man,  who,  taken  merely  as  a  painter, 
unites  anatomical  knowledge  to  that  of  chiaroscuro, 
and  the  study  of  reality  to  the  genius  of  the  ideal, 
who  preceded  Correggio  in  grace,  Michael  Angelo  in 
force,  and  Raphael  in  beauty. 

There  is  nothing  very  remarkable  by  Leonardo  da 
Vinci  in  the  German  galleries,  if  we  except  one  of 
the  two  Madonnas  in  the  gallery  of  Prince  Esterhazy, 
now  at  Pesth.  The  Holy  Mother  is  here  placed  be- 
tween St.  Barbara  and  St.  Catherine,  and  is  holding 
the  infant  Jesus,  who  is  taking  a  book  from  the  table. 
At  the  bottom  of  his  dress  are  these  words :  Virginia 


104:  WONDEK8    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

Mater.     Yet  it  is  not  St.  Anne  :  the  painter  doubt- 
less meant  to  say    Virgo  Mater.     A   more   serious 
fault  may  be  found  with  it ;  namely,  that  the  thro  \ 
female  heads  are  singularly  alike.     And  yet  this  hall 
length    group,    which   reminds   us   by   its   excel]  en 
arrangement  of  the  fine  Holy  Family  we  shall  pres 
ently  speak  of  in  Madrid,  is  almost  equal  to  thai 
painting  in  importance  and  beauty.     This  picture  is 
much  injured,  but  has  not  been  restored  ;  and  cer- 
tainly the  marks  of  age  and  the  havoc  which  time 
has  produced  are  more  respectable  than  unskilful  and 
sacrilegious  restorations.     Not  more  fortunate  than 
the  galleries  of  Germany,  the  Hermitage  of  St.  Pe- 
tersburg, until  lately,  possessed  only  weak  and  doubt- 
ful  specimens  of   the  works  of   Leonardo.     It  has, 
however,  now  acquired,  from  the  Litta  Gallery,  at 
Milan,  a  work  whose  historical  authenticity,  joined  to 
its  own  high  qualities,  gives  it  a  great  importance. 
This  is  a  Madonna,  quite  equal  to  the  Joconde  of  the 
Louvre,  and  which  Dr.  Waagen  includes  among  the 
ten  pictures  which  he  analyses  in  his  book  on  the 
Florentine  master,  while  M.  E-io,  in  his  "  Wonders  of 
Christian  Art,"  lavishes  on  it  the  most  enthusiastic 
encomiums. 

In  England,  in  the  National  Gallery,  there  is  only 
one  work  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  that  is  much 
contested.  It  is  Christ  Disputing  with  the  Doctors, 
which  is  said  to  have  come  from  the  Aldobrandini 
Palace,  and  to  have  been  engraved  for  the  collection 
entitled  Schola  Italica.  It  recalls  in  its  details  the 


FLORENTINE    SCHOOL.  105 

style  of  the  immortal  author  of  the  Last  Supper. 
But  if  it  be  indeed  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  it  is  nei- 
ther one  of  his  best  nor  even  one  of  his  good  works. 
As  is  usually  the  case  in  pictures  where  the  figures 
are  half-length,  the  subject  is  confused,  obscure,  and 
badly  arranged.  Our  Lord  is  represented  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  picture,  looking  at  the  spectator,  and  does 
not  appear  to  be  addressing  the  doctors,  who  are  be- 
hind him.  If  Leonardo  wished  to  represent  the  inci- 
dent during  the  childhood  of  Christ,  he  has  made 
Him  too  old.  He  is  here  a  man  of  twenty  years  of 
age.  If  he  wished  to  depict  Him  during  His  work, 
and  before  the  Pharisees,  he  has  made  Him  too 
young,  and  also  too  richly  dressed  ;  a  silk  garment 
covered  with  jewels  is  scarcely  suitable  to  the  humble 
life  of  the  Preacher  who  chose  fishermen  for  His  dis- 
ciples. 

In  the  Maseo  del  JRey  at  Madrid,  also,  there  were 
until  quite  recently  two  replicas  only  of  works  by 
this  great  master,  repetitions  with  some  slight  varia- 
tions of  the  Joconde  and  of  the  St.  Anne  with  the 
Virgin  and  Infant  Saviour  in  the  Louvre.  But  the 
Escurial  has  recently  ceded  to  this  gallery,  and  thus 
restored  to  public  view,  another  Holy  Family,  which 
has  not  yet  been  engraved,  but  which  is  certainly  one 
of  the  best  paintings  of  this  master.  Mary  and  Jo- 
seph are  here  represented  nearly  of  the  size  of  life, 
standing  behind  a  table  on  which  the  infant  Saviour 
and  His  companion  are  seated,  both  naked,  embrac- 
ing one  another.  Beautiful  and  smiling,  full  of  love, 


106  WONDEKS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

solicitude,  and  reverence,  Mary  has  thrown  her  arms 
lovingly  rotmd  the  children,  whilst  Joseph,  standing 
a  little  behind,  and  with  one  hand  supporting  his 
head,  looks  with  tenderness  at  the  scene  before  him. 
The  Virgin's  face  is  a  little  like  that  of  La  Stile 
Joconde,  but  of  a  less  worldly  beauty.  Her  delicate 
hands,  the  fine  transparent  materials  which  encircle 
her  forehead  and  breast,  with  their  soft  tints  artistic- 
ally combined,  the  mild  and  noble  head  of  Joseph, 
standing  out  in  relief  although  in  shadow,  are  so 
many  complete  perfections,  which  mark  the  limits  of 
human  art.  This  picture,  still  scarcely  known  in 
spite  of  its  being  nearly  four  hundred  years  old,  is  a 
marvellous  work,  and,  unlike  so  many  other  pictures 
by  Leonardo,  has  hitherto  almost  entirely  escaped  the 
ravages  of  time. 

Let  us  return,  after  so  many  wanderings,  to  Italy. 
At  Naples  they  show  with  pride,  in  the  Museum 
degli  Studi,  an  admirable  Madonna  by  Leonardo  da 
Yinci ;  at  Home,  in  the  small  gallery  of  the  Sciarra 
palace,  there  is  the  celebrated  allegory — two  heads 
full  of  expression,  which  explain  each  other — called 
Vanity  and  Modenty  j  at  Florence,  less  fortunate, 
the  Pitti  Gallery  can  only  show  a  portrait  of  an  un- 
known man  and  that  of  a  woman,  who  is  called  the 
Nun  (la  Monaco),  because  her  head  is  enveloped  in  a 
hood.  Even  these  portraits,  before  they  were  placed 
in  the  collection  of  the  Grand  Duke,  were  merely 
spoken  of  as  belonging  to  the  school  of  Leonardo  da 
Vinci. 


FLORENTINE   SCHOOL.  107 

It  was  at  Milan  that  Leonardo,  attracted  by  the 
bounty  and  retained  by  the  friendship  of  Ludovico 
Sforza,  passed  the  greater  part  of  his  life  as  an  artist, 
and  it  is  here  that  we  should  expect  to  find  most  of 
his  works.  However — and  this  proves  how  rare  they 
are — the  Ambrosian  and  Brera  Galleries  have  only 
two  sketches  by  him,  both  Holy  Families,  one  of 
which  was  finished  by  his  worthy  pupil  and  rival, 
Bernardino  Luini.  His  other  remaining  works  are 
merely  studies  and  sketches,  including  some  portraits, 
amongst  which  are  those  of  his  protector,  11  Moro, 
and  Beatrice  d'Este,  his  wife ;  also  his  own  portrait 
in  profile  in  red  chalks,  a  fine  and  noble  face. 

Let  us  now  enter  the  refectory  of  the  ancient  con- 
vent of  Santa  Maria  delle  Grazzie,  at  Milan.  There 
we  may  admire  the  remains,  the  relics,  we  might  say, 
of  the  celebrated  Last  Supper  (il  Cenacolo)  which 
Leonardo  painted  towards  the  close  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  by  order  of  the  prince  whose  service  he  had 
chosen — that  duke  Ludovico  Sforza,  who,  having 
been  made  prisoner  by  the  French,  died  miserably  at 
the  castle  of  Loches  in  Touraine,  after  ten  years'  cap- 
tivity. Francis  I.  wished  to  carry  this  picture  back 
with  him  to  France,  that  it  might  form  the  finest  tro- 
phy of  his  victory  at  Marignan,  which  had  given  him 
possession  of  Lombardy.  It  could  not,  however,  be 
detached  from  the  wall.  This  enormous  fresco,  the 
masterpiece  of  its  author,  and  perhaps  even  of  all 
modern  painting,  has  been  for  a  long  time  in  the  most 
deplorable  state  of  decay.  In  the  sixteenth  century, 


108  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN   ART. 

the  cardinal  Federigo  Borromeo  reproached  the  Do- 
minicans with  their  culpable  neglect  of  this  precious 
work  of  art ;  and  yet  it  was  these  same  Dominicans 
who,  in  1652,  to  enlarge  the  door  of  the  refectory,  cut 
off  the  legs  of  the  figure  of  Christ  and  of  the  disci- 
ples nearest  to  Him. 

When,  at  the  end  of  the  last  century,  during  the 
wars  of  Italy,  the  convent  of  Santa  Maria  was  con- 
verted into  cavalry  barracks,  and  the  refectory  into  a 
store  for  fodder,  we  can  well  imagine  that  the  hussars 
were  not  more  scrupulous  than  the  monks.  General 
Bonaparte,  in  1796,  had  indeed  written,  using  his 
knee  as  a  desk,  an  order  that  this  place,  consecrated 
by  the  genius  of  Leonardo  da  Yinci,  should  be  spared 
from  having  soldiers  quartered  in  it ;  but  the  necessi- 
ties of  war  were  stronger  than  his  respect  for  the  arts. 
It  was  long  afterwards  that  Prince  Eugene,  viceroy 
of  Italy,  had  the  refectory  of  the  Dominicans  cleaned, 
and  also  raised  a  scaffolding  before  the  picture,  which 
allowed  it  to  be  examined  nearer,  but  which  also 
allowed  it  to  be  injured  by  curious  and  ignorant  tour- 
ists, desirous  of  carrying  away  souvenirs. 

It  is  thought  that  Leonardo  da  Yinci  did  not 
paint  this  wonderful  composition  in  fresco,  that  is  to 
say,  in  distemper,  on  and  in  the  damp  wall,  but  in 
oil ;  or  that,  at  all  events,  he  covered  his  fresco  with 
an  oil  varnish.  From  this  arose  its  rapid  decay. 
Everything  has  assisted  in  the  destruction  of  this 
great  work.  It  is  not  merely  time,  the  infiltration 
of  water,  the  carelessness  of  the  monks,  and  the  in- 


FLORENTINE    SCHOOL.  109 

suits  of  the  soldiers,  that  have  caused  the  ruin  of  this 
picture.  More  than  anything  else  it  has  been  pro- 
duced by  unskilful  restorations,  which  changed  what 
they  touched,  and  rendered  what  they  respected  more 
fragile.  However,  the  outline  of  the  composition, 
the  attitudes  of  the  figures,  and  even  the  general 
effect  of  color,  can  still  be  vaguely  seen.  This  is  suf- 
ficient to  make  the  coldest  and  most  superficial  spec- 
tator, and  even  one  ignorant  in  the  arts,  bow  with 
respect,  as  did  Francis  I.,  before  this  sublime  work, 
and,  rendering  the~hornage  of  ardent  admiration  to 
Leonardo  da  Yinci,  repeat  the  just  and  beautiful 
eulogy  which  Yasari  has  given  of  this  wonderful 
man  :  "  Heaven,  in  its  goodness,  sometimes  grants 
to  one  mortal  all  its  most  precious  gifts,  and  marks 
all  the  works  of  this  privileged  man  with  such  a 
stamp  that  they  seem  less  to  show  the  power  of  hu- 
man genius  than  the  special  favor  of  God." 

The  Last  Supper  is  too  well  known  for  it  to  be 
necessary  that  I  should  give  a  detailed  account  of  it. 
One  remarkable  thing  is,  the  enormous  number  of 
copies  made  of  it  by  the  brush,  the  pencil,  and  the 
burin  or  engraver's  tool,  without  counting  the  innu- 
merable studies  of  detached  parts,  which,  since  the 
time  of  Leonardo  da  Yinci,  artists  and  amateurs  have 
continually  been  making  before  his  fresco.  At  Milan 
I  saw  the  copy  of  Yespino  (Andrea  Bianchi),  which 
the  Ambrosian  Gallery  possesses,  and  that  of  Bossi, 
at  the  Brera,  both  incorrect,  and  unworthy  of  the 
original ;  then,  in  the  same  museum,  that  of  Marco 


110  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

d'Ogionne,*  in  reduced  proportions,  the  color  and 
effect  altered,  but  the  correct  drawing  of  which  ren- 
ders it  certainly  the  best  of  the  three.  There  was 
also  at  Milan,  in  the  convent  of  Santa  Maria  della 
Pace,  now  a  manufactory,  a  fourth  copy,  made,  at 
twenty-two  years  of  age,  by  Lomazzo,  that  interest- 
ing painter  who,  becoming  blind  while  still  yonng, 
and  thus  forced  to  give  up  working,  dictated  his 
"  Treatise  on  Painting."  The  copies  are  also  known 
by  De  Rossi,  Perdrici,  Marco  TJglone,  and  that  which 
Gagna  made  in  1827  for  the  palace  at  Turin.  In 
France,  there  was  the  copy  brought  back  from  Milan 
by  Francis  I.,  and  which  was  at  Saint-Germain 
1'Auxerrois;  that  of  the  chateau  d'Ecouen  of  the 
same  period,  and  that  which  has  long  been  exhibited 
in  the  Apollo  Gallery  at  the  Louvre,  and  which  was, 
thought  to  have  been  done  in  the  studio  of  Leonardo 
and  under  his  own  eye.  Two  recent  mosaics,  one 
made  in  1809,  which  is  at  Vienna,  the  other  made 
more  recently  by  the  Roman  Rafaelli,  have  repro- 
duced the  "Last  Supper  "in  unchangeable  enamel. 
Engraving  has  been  employed  not  less  than  painting 
or  mosaic  in  perpetuating  the  remembrance  of  this 
celebrated  work.  It  has  been  engraved  successively 
by  Mantegna,  Soutman,  Rainaldi,  Bonate,  Frey, 
Thouvenet,  by  many  others,  and  lastly  by  Raphael 
Morghen,  who,  making  use  of  a  fine  drawing  by  Teodo- 
ro  Matteini,  and  devoting  six  years  to  his  copy,  as  Leo- 

*  A  copy,  by  Marco  d'Oggione,  is  now  in  the  possession   of  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Arts,  London. —  Wornum, 


FLORENTINE   SCHOOL.  Ill 

nardo  to  the  original,  has  surpassed  all  his  predeces- 
sors, and  produced  in  his  own  art  another  masterpiece. 
From  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  who  went  to  Milan  to 
found — or  at  all  events  to  restore — the  Lombard 
school  in  that  city,  we  pass  to  Fra  Bartolommeo 
della  Porta  (1469-1517).  To  avoid  such  a  long 
name,  and  to  distinguish  him  from  the  old  Fra  Bar- 
tolomnaeo  della  Gatta,  a  painter,  illuminator,  archi- 
tect, and  musician,  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  the  Italians  usually  call  him  LI  Frate  (the 
Monk).  A  romantic  event  in  his  youth  induced  him 
to  adopt  the  monastic  life.  Whilst  still  a  pupil  of 
Cosimo  Kosselli,  or  rather  of  the  works  of  Leonardo 
da  Yinci,  his  real  master,  he  listened  eagerly  to  the 
preaching  of  the  fiery  Dominican,  Fra  Geronimo 
Savonarola,  and  became  one  of  his  most  ardent  dis- 
ciples. He  even  burnt  his  studies  in  the  kind  of 
auto-da-fe  made  by  the  people  on  the  Shrove  Tues- 
day of  the  year  1489,  in  the  square  before  the  convent 
of  St.  Mark.  When  the  Italian  Luther,  after  a  reign 
of  three  years  over  Florence,  was  obliged  to  shut 
himself  up  in  the  convent  of  which  he  was  the  prior, 
and  to  undergo  a  siege,  Bartolommeo  was  at  his  side, 
and,  in  the  heat  of  the  combat,  made  a  vow  to  adopt 
the  monastic  life  if  he  escaped  the  danger.  After  the 
death  of  Savonarola,  he  took  the  vows  in  that  same 
convent  of  the  Dominicans  of  San  Marco.  Hence 
his  name  of  11  Frate.  Pie  remained  four  whole  years 
without  touching  a  pencil,  and  when  he  yielded  at 
length  to  the  solicitations  of  his  friends,  his  fellow 


112  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

monks  and  his  superiors,  it  was  on  condition  that  the 
convent  should  receive  all  the  produce  of  his  labors. 

We  cannot  judge  of  him  by  the  specimens  at 
Paris,  which  consist  of  an  Annunciation,  once  in  the 
cabinet  of  Francis  I.  at  Fontainebleau,  and  a  Ma- 
donna, given  to  Louis  XII.  by  a  French  ambassador, 
who  had  received  it  from  the  signory  of  Florence. 
We  must  seek  his  nobler  works  at  Florence.  There, 
in  the  Uffizi,  is  another  painting  of  the  Blessed 
Virgin  seated  on  a  throne,  surrounded  by  her  celes- 
tial court,  one  of  the  greatest  compositions  of  this 
painter,  and  the  last  which  he  executed,  as  he  died 
before  he  attained  the  age  of  forty-five.  In  the  Pitti 
palace  we  find  an  Entombment,  and  with  it  the  most 
celebrated  of  all  Fra  Bartolommeo's  works ;  the  St. 
Mark,  which  came  to  Paris  during  the  conquests  of 
the  first  empire.  This  colossal  St.  Mark,  a  gigantic 
and  terrible  figure,  was  painted  by  the  Frate  for  the 
facade  of  his  convent,  to  disprove  the  truth  of  an  ac- 
cusation which  had  been  brought  against  him  of 
meanness  and  want  of  grandeur  in  his  style;  and 
notwithstanding  some  faults  of  exaggeration,  it  is 
perhaps  the  most  complete  expression  of  strength  and 
power  that  painting  has  produced,  as  the  Moses  of 
Michael  Angelo  is  in  sculpture.  If  the  Pitti  palace 
had  been  able  also  to  obtain  the  St.  Sebastian  by  the 
same  master  (a  picture  which  was  sent  to  Francis  I. 
by  the  monks  of  St.  Mark,  and  which  is  now  lost),  it 
would  have  possessed  both  the  masterpieces  of  the 
Frate,  the  one  remarkable  for  its  grandeur,  the  other 


FLORENTINE   SCHOOL.  113 

for  its  exquisite  beauty.*  We  find  in  all  his  works 
purity  and  nobility  of  style,  joined  to  a  brilliancy  of 
coloring,  though  with  a  tendency  towards  employing 
too  much  red ;  his  draperies  are  characterised  by  ele- 
gance and  truth,  even  if  they  sometimes  appear  empty 
and  hollow.  As  expressive  as  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  as 
graceful  as  Raphael,  as  imposing  as  Michael  Angelo, 
as  a  colorist  almost  equal  to  Titian,  inspired  by  the 
knowledge  and  the  feeling  of  all,  yet  without  servility, 
without  eifort,  and  without  mistakes,  the  Frate  was 
really,  with  Andrea  del  Sarto,  the  summary  of  the 
Florentine  art  of  his  time.  We  must  not  forget  that 
Fra  Bartolommeo  by  several  years  preceded  Raphael, 
with  whom  he  exchanged  lessons  that  were  useful  to 
both  ;  we  must  not  forget  either  that  painters  are  said 
to  owe  to  him  the  invention  of  lay-figures. 

I  have  just  said  that  among  the  pure  Florentines 
who  remained  at  Florence,  the  most  illustrious  with 
the  Frate  was  Andrea  del  Sarto  (1488-1530).  It  is 
at  Florence,  and  there  only,  that  Andrea  Vannucchi, 
surnamed  del  Sarto,  because  he  was  the  son  of  a 
tailor,  can  be  known  and  admired  as  he  deserves. 
At  first  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  goldsmith,  but  be- 
came afterwards  successively  the  pupil  of  Giovanni 
Barile,  an  unknown  painter,  and  of  Piero  di  Cosiruo, 
that  strange,  uncouth  man,  as  great  a  cynic  as  Diog- 
enes, whose  works  prove  him  to  have  been  a  tolerable 
colorist  but  an  incorrect  draughtsman.  Andrea  del 

*  The  Gallery  of  the  Belvedere  at  Vienna  possesses  a  very  fine  work 
of  this  master,  The  Presentation  in  the  Temple. 


114  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   AKT. 

Sarto  never  visited  either  Rome  or  Venice  ;  he  stu- 
died the  frescoes  of  Masaccio  and  Ghirlaudaio,  some 
paintings  by  Leonardo  da  Yinci,  and  drawings  by 
Michael  Angelo.  He  never  left  his  native  country 
except  for  one  short  visit  to  France,  whither  he  was 
invited  by  Francis  I,,  and  he  died  when  only  forty- 
two  years  old,  struck  down  by  a  contagious  malady, 
and  abandoned  by  his  wife  and  friends.  Thus  sadly 
ended  a  life  which  we  cannot  but  regard  as  obscure 
and  miserable  for  one  possessing  such  great  talents 
and  honored  with  such  posthumous  renown. 

The  Pitti  palace  contains  as  many  as  sixteen  pic- 
tures by  Andrea  del  Sarto,  the  greater  number  of 
them  very  important.  First,  his  Dispute  on  the  Holy 
Trinity,  an  analogous  subject  to  the  Dispute  on  the 
Sacrament,  painted  by  Raphael,  in  the  Stanze*  of 
the  Vatican.  "Without  wishing  to  establish  any  com- 
parison between  these  two  works,  which  resemble 
each  other  in  name  only,  I  shall  say  that  this  picture 
of  Andrea's  appears  to  constitute  his  highest  title  to 
fame ;  there,  as  elsewhere,  I  know  nothing  which  can 
give  a  higher  and  more  complete  idea  of  his  original 
and  learned  composition,  of  his  elevated  and  grand 
style,  of  his  vigorous  expression,  and,  in  short,  of  all 
the  qualities  of  execution  which  make  him  the  first 
colorist  of  the  Florentine  school.  We  may  also  men- 
tion, before  leaving  the  Pitti  palace,  an  Entombment, 
brought  to  Paris  with  the  other- Italian  masterpieces; 
two  Holy  Families,  of  about  equal  merit ;  two  As- 

*  Chambers,  or  Camere. 


FLOKENTINE   SCHOOL.  115 

sumptions,  bearing  ranch  resemblance  to  each  other ; 
and  two  Annunciations.  Of  the  latter,  the  larger  of 
the  two  is  very  different  from  the  ordinary  and  tra- 
ditional forms :  the  scene  does  not  take  place  in  the 
oratory' of  the  Yirgin,  but  in  the  open  air,  and  before 
a  palace  of  fantastic  architecture.  Gabriel  does  not 
come  alone  to  perform  his  mysterious  mission;  two 
other  angels  accompany  him.  The  Yirgin  is  repre- 
sented as  too  vigorous,  too  masculine  for  a  young 
girl.  This  last  fault  is  more  or  less  common  to  all 
the  figures  of  Madonnas  or  women  painted  by  An- 
drea del  Sarto ;  and  arises  no  doubt  from  his  taking 
for  his  model  his  own  wife,  Lucrezia  della  Fede,  a 
beautiful  widow  and  coquette,  whom  he  married  while 
Btill  young.  She  persuaded  him  to  commit  a  great 
fault,  that  of  wasting  in  foolish  expenses  the  money 
entrusted  to  him  by  Francis  I.  for  the  purchase  of 
pictures  and  statues.  She  became  the  torment  of  his 
life,  and  finally  left  him  to  die  alone.  We  must  also 
mention  his  own  portrait,  a  fine,  mild  face,  rather 
sad  and  suffering ;  and  also  the  last  of  his  works,  the 
Virgin  and  four  Saints,  which  a  sudden  death  pre- 
vented him  finishing.  His  pupils,  among  whom  were 
Yasari,  Pontormo,  and  Razzi,  completed  it. 

Of  a  timid,  modest,  simple  nature,  without  ardor 
or  pride,  but  possessing  a  "  genius  full  at  once  of  kind- 
ness and  forethought,  of  pliancy  and  boldness,  of 
reserve  and  enthusiasm,'1  the  very  excellent  Andrea 
del  Sarto,  as  Yasari  calls  him,  received  the  noble 
surname  of  Senza  errori,  from  the  purity  of  his  design, 


116  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

the  correctness  and  power  of  his  coloring,  the  grace 
of  his  attitudes,  and  the  harmony  and  unity  of  his 
compositions,  which  can  be  understood  at  a  glance. 

The  admirers  of  del  Sarto  should  not  leave  Flor- 
ence without  visiting  the  old  church  of  the  'Annun- 
siata,  the  cloister  of  which  contains  a  precious  series 
of  frescoes  by  Poccetti.  Rosselli,  and  others;  but  these 
are  all  eclipsed  by  the  admirable  and  celebrated 
Madonna  del  Sacco,  which  he  painted  over  the  en- 
trance-door, to  accomplish  the  vow  of  a  good  woman 
at  confession.  Unfortunately,  I  cannot  point  to  any 
important  work  of  Andrea's  in  France,  not  even  in 
the  Louvre  ;  and  to  find  his  paintings  out  of  Italy,  we 
must  go  either  to  Munich  and  Berlin,  or  to  Madrid. 
In  the  Pinacotheca  of  Munich  there  are  two  Holy 
Families,  in  the  larger  of  which  St.  Elizabeth  and 
two  angels  complete  the  composition.  They  are  equal 
to  the  best  works  in  the  Pitti  palace,  and  we  are 
really  charmed  to  find,  among  so  many  miserable 
imitations  of  Andrea  del  Sarto,  the  defects  of  which 
are  usually  laid  upon  him,  some  works  by  bis  own 
pencil,  in  which  we  can  recognize  the  enlightened 
thinker,  the  skilful  grouper,  the  correct  designer,  the 
powerful  colorist,  in  short,  the  master  in  every  branch 
of  the  art. 

At  Berlin  there  is  another  great  composition,  no 
less  finished  and  complete  in  execution  than  in  con- 
ception, and  in  which  del  Sarto  displays  all  his  power. 
This  is  also  a  Virgin  in  Glory,  that  subject  which 
has  been  treated  by  painters  of  every  school  and 


FLOEENTINK    SCHOOL.  119 

period,  and  which  seems  to  have  aroused  the  emula- 
tion of  them  all.  On  a  throne,  supported  by  the 
clouds  and  surrounded  by  cherubim,  the  Holy  Mother 
is  seated,  holding  the  infant  Saviour  in  her  arms.  Two 
groups  of  saints  form  her  celestial  court;  to  the  right 
are  St.  Peter,  St.  Benedict,  St.  Onophrius ;  to  the  left, 
St.  Mark,  with  the  lion,  St.  Antony  of  Padua,  St. 
Catherine  of  Alexandria  ;  the  two  first  of  each  group 
are  standing,  the  third  kneeling;  in  the  foreground 
are  half-length  portraits  of  St.  Celsus  and  St.  Julia. 
We  know  of  what  importance  is  a  picture  by  del  Sarto 
containing  twelve  personages;  but  this  is  still  more 
striking  for  its  merits  than  for  its  size.  It  is  painted 
on  panel,  and  though  rubbed  in  some  parts,  this 
magnificent  picture  yet  joins  the  most  brilliant  color- 
ing to  the  greatest  elevation  of  style.  I  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  declare  that  this  is  the  most  precious  work  of 
art  from  the  south  in  Berlin.  The  date  it  bears  is 
1528.  Andrea,  then,  must  have  painted  it  on  his 
return  from  France,  and  two  years  before  the  plague 
terminated  his  short  life,  which  had  been  embittered 
by  jealousy,  misery,  and  remorse. 

Amongst  the  six  pictures  by  Andrea  which  are  in 
the  museum  of  Madrid,  there  is  one — the  Sacrifice  of 
Isaac — which  is  thought  to  have  been  one  of  the  two 
paintings  which  on  his  return  to  Italy  he  had  intended 
to  have  sent  to  Francis  I.,  to  implore  his  forgiveness 
for  his  fault.  If  the  other  were  as  admirable  as  this, 
the  two  might  have  equalled  the  value  of  the  money 
which  that  prince  had  confided  to  him  for  the  purchase 


120  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   AKT. 

of  works  of  art,  and  which,  notwithstanding  an  oath 
he  had  taken  on  the  Gospels,  Andrea  allowed  to  be 
frittered  away  by  the  beautiful  and  capricious  widow 
he  had  just  married.  This  picture,  like  the  Vision 
of  Ezekiel,  and,  indeed,  like  nearly  all  the  works  of 
Poussin,  proves  that  there  is  no  need  of  large  propor- 
tions to  give  an  elevated  style.  It  would  be  difficult 
to  compose  a  subject  with  more  skill  and  clearness,  or 
to  give  it  more  vigor  and  effect.  It  has  been  said 
that  the  principal  figure  in  the  picture — the  young 
Isaac,  who  bows  his  head  with  such  submission  under 
his  father's  knife — has  been  copied  from  one  of  the 
children  of  Niobe,  in  the  famous  antique  group  in  the 
museum  of  the  Uffizi.  Far  from  detracting  from  the 
merit  of  Andrea,  this  would  prove  that,  although 
especially  great  as  a  colorist,  he  studied  severe  draw- 
ing in  his  most  perfect  works,  and  that  he  knew  to 
how  great  an  extent  the  arts  are  intended  for  mutual 
help,  and  how  well  each  may  furnish  the  other  with 
excellent  models. 

But  what  I  consider  the  most  astonishing  work  in 
Spain  of  the  painter — who  was  called  by  his  contem- 
poraries Andrea  Senza  errori — is  a  simple  portrait, 
that  of  his  wife  Lucrezia  della  Fede.  This  portrait 
has  been  placed  as  a  pendant  to  the  Mona  Lisa  of 
Leonardo  da  Vinci  in  the  Madrid  gallery.  It  deserves 
and  justifies  such  an  honor.  I  consider  it  to  be  its 
equal  in  painting,  and,  thanks  no  doubt  to  the  beauty 
of  the  original,  it  is  still  more  charming  and  lovely. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  portraits  of  a  woman 


FLORENTINE   SCHOOL.  121 

which  I  can  remember.  The  beauty  of  the  model — 
idealised  perhaps  by  love — the  grace  of  the  position, 
the  exquisite  taste  in  the  dress,  and  the  wonderful 
execution  of  the  whole,  combine  to  render  this  picture 
interesting  in  the  history  of  painting.  It  has  a  double 
title  to  be  so,  as  it  is  the  type  of  all  the  women  painted 
by  Andrea,  even  of  his  Madonnas,  and  also  it  is  a 
masterpiece  in  his  style,  as  the  Madonna,  delta  8cdia 
is  in  that  of  Raphael.  And  really  these  two  pictures, 
so  different  in  subject,  bear  a  singular  resemblance  to 
one  another.  There  is  the  same  modest  and  piquant 
beauty  which  attracts  homage ;  there  is  the  same 
powerful  and  victorious  charms  in  both  pictures. 
Why  did  not  poor  Andrea,  when  tormented  by  his 
conscience,  send  as  an  excuse  to  his  royal  creditor, 
instead  of  Abraham,  or  any  other  biblical  subject,  the 
portrait  of  this  tempter,  more  dangerous  and  more 
irresistible  than  our  first  mother  Eve?  He  would 
have  been  justified,  and  have  died  without  remorse. 

We  could  not  justly  terminate  our  review  of  the 
illustrious  Florentines  if  we  did  not  mention  the  family 
of  the  Allori.  The  oldest,  Angiolo  Allori,  better 
known  under  the  name  of  Bronzino  (1502-1572),  has 
left  in  the  Gallery  of  the  Uffizi  a  Descent  into  Hades, 
which  is  considered  his  ehef-d'o3iivre  in  works  of 
sacred  history,  and  which  takes  rank  amongst  the 
classical  productions  of  art.  In  the  Pitti  palace  there 
are  portraits  by  him,  a  style  of  painting  which  he 
cultivated  with  more  success  than  history.  All  these 
works  are  those  of  an  artist  who  was,  in  easel-pictures, 


122  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    AET. 

the  imitator  of  the  frescoes  and  cartoons  of  Michael 
Angelo,  and  who  even  imitated  him  in  satirical  verses 
called  Capitoli.  As  a  painter  he  remained  faithful  to 
the  manner  of  his  master,  whose  accuracy  and  vigor 
in  drawing  he  has  preserved,  with  less  contorted 
forms  and  a  more  correct  and  lively  coloring.  The 
second  Bronzino,  Allessandro  Allori,  the  nephew  and 
disciple  of  the  preceding,  departed  still  further  from 
the  school  of  Michael  Angelo,  giving  to  his  coloring 
more  softness  and  vivacity.  As  for  the  third  Allori, 
Christoforo,  the  son  of  Alessandro  (1577-1621),  who 
was  the  pupil  of  Cigoli,  an  imitator  of  Correggio,  he 
entirely  abandoned  his  grandfather's  style  in  order  to 
follow  that  of  the  master  of  his  choice,  which  seems 
to  take  him  from  the  school  of  Florence  and  to  place 
him  in  that  of  Parma.  His  most  celebrated  pictures 
are  in  the  Pitti  palace — the  Hospitality  of  St.  Julian, 
and  Judith  after  t/te  murder  of  Holof ernes. 

The  former,  which  was  taken  to  Paris,  is  a  magni- 
ficent composition,  finished  off  with  that  minute  and 
jealous  care  which  Allori  gave  to  all  his  works.  He 
was  never  contented  with  himself,  and  he  often  spoiled 
fine  works  by  putting  too  many  finishing  strokes. 
The  Judith  appears  to  me  finer  than  the  St.  Julian. 
It  enjoys  a  fame  which  makes  praise  unnecessary. 
But  I  cannot  pass  over  in  silence  the  anecdote  which 
gave  rise,  it  is  said,  to  this  picture.  This  magnificent 
Judith,  so  proud  and  imperious,  is  the  portrait  of  a 
mistress  of  Allori,  named  Mazzafirra.  The  attendant 
holding  the  bag  is  the  woman's  mother ;  in  the  severed 


FLORENTINE   SCHOOL.  123 

head  of  Holofernes  he  painted  his  own  features.  He 
intended  to  indicate  in  this  allegory  the  torture  he 
constantly  experienced  from  the  capricious  pride  of 
the  daughter  and  the  greedy  rapacity  of  the  mother. 

It  would  he  unjust  not  to  mention,  at  least  the 
name,  of  the  historian  Giorgio  Yasari  (1512-1574), 
better  known  by  his  book  than  by  the  works  of  his 
pencil.  Although  he  has  left  many  frescoes  in 
churches  and  palaces,  his  easel-pictures  are  very  rare. 
Yasari  himself  says  of  his  works :  "  I  did  them  with  a 
conscience  and  love  which  render  them  worthy,  if  not 
of  praise,  at  least  of  indulgence."  There  is  evidence 
of  haste  in  the  execution  of  his  works,  which  the,  pro- 
cess of  fresco  then  rendered  indispensable  in  mural 
painting,  but  which  was  quite  unnecessary  on  canvas 
or  panel.  We  see  in  Yasari  both  the  Florentine  style 
and  one  imitated  from  Michael  Angelo,  whom  he  knew 
at  Rome  when  he  was  old,  and  whom  he  loved  as  a 
father  and  admired  as  a  master. 

We  shall  conclude  with  a  Florentine  painter  who 
was  very  fertile  during  a  laborious  life  of  seventy 
years,  and  whose  renown  has  surpassed  his  merit. 
This  is  Carlo  Dolci,  whom  the  Italians  also  call  Carlino 
(1616-1686).  One  might  almost  suppose  that  Yasari 
was  thinking  of  him  when  he  said  of  an  earlier 
painter  (Lorenzo  da  Credi) :  "  His  productions  are  so 
finished,  that  beside  them  those  of  other  painters 
appear  coarse  sketches.  .  .  This  excessive  care  is  no 
more  worthy  of  praise  than  is  excessive  negligence ; 
in  everything  we  should  keep  from  extremes,  which 


124  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

are  equally  vicious."  This  reflection  serves  to  judge 
the  works  of  Carlo  Dolci  on  the  material  side.  If  we 
examine  them  from  a  moral  point  of  view,  we  find 
their  principal  characteristic  to  be  a  feeble,  insipid 
affectation  of  religious  feeling.  He  does  not  attain 
to  the  mystic  devotion  of  the  art  of  Fra  Angelico  and 
Morales,  but  stops  short  at  narrow  devoteeism.  The 
last  of  the  Florentines  in  age,  he  was  so  also  in  style 
and  taste.  With  him  expired  the  great  school  which 
had  been  rendered  celebrated  by  Giotto,  Masaccio, 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Michael  Angelo,  Fra  Bartolom- 
meo,  and  Andrea  del  Sarto.  And  yet  it  is  to  be 
regretted  that  there  is  no  specimen  of  Carlo  Dolci  at 
the  Louvre.  If  the  painters  of  the  periods  of  decay 
should  never,  any  more  than  the  poets,  be  chosen  as 
models  for  study,  they  are  yet  of  real  use  when  placed 
near  the  works  of  classic  masters,  because  they  serve 
as  examples  of  the  most  dangerous  of  all  faults,  those 
which  are  agreeable  or  fashionable,  in  contrast  with 
severe,  solid,  and  eternal  beauties.  The  taste  becomes 
formed  by  discriminating  between  these,  and  talent 
learns  to  shun  the  defects  of  the  one  whilst  imitating 
the  beauties  of  the  other.  Hence  the  works  of  Carlo 
Dolci  have  a  use  even  by  the  side  of  those  of  Michael 
Angelo  and  Raphael. 

ROMAN  SCHOOL. 

"We  have  now  come  to  these  two  illustrious  rivals, 
whom  it  was  necessary  to  reserve  till  the  last,  since  they 


ROMAN   SCHOOL.  125 

form  the  bridge  between  the  Roman  and  Florentine 
schools  ;  or  rather,  since,  coming  from  Florence,  they 
founded  the  school  at  Rome,  which  city,  strange  to 
say,  had  in  fact  no  school  before  their  time,  as  it  had 
none  after  them  and  their  immediate  disciples.  If 
any  one  were  to  ask  who,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  were  the  two  great  rivals  whose 
contest  was  watched  by  the  whole  of  Europe,  politi- 
cians would  reply :  Francis  I.  and  Charles  Y.  ;  but 
artists  :  Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo.  u  They  have 
been  the  only  conquerors  in  art,"  say  the  annotators 
of  Yasari,  "and  nothing  can  be  compared  to  the  en- 
thusiastic acclamations  of  the  people  who  saw  them 
produce  the  Cartoon  of  the  Pisan  War,  the  paintings 
in  the  Stanze  of  the  Yatican,  those  in  the  Sistine 
Chapel,  and  the  Transfiguration.  Not  a  single  voice 
aro?e  to  contest  their  victory ;  more  than  a  century 
passed  before  emboldened  criticism  dared  to  stammer 
out  its  tirst  objections.  .  .  After  vain  attempts  to  at- 
tack Raphael  and  Michael  Angelo,  it  at  last  had  re- 
course to  the  expedient  of  the  lapidary,  who  attacks 
the  diamond  with  the  diamond.  It  opposed  Michael 
Augelo  to  Raphael  and  Raphael  to  Michael  Angelo ; 
but  though  continually  brought  into  opposition  -for 
more  than  three  centuries,  Raphael  and  Michael  An- 
gelo only  appear  the  more  radiant." 

Montesquieu  compared  Raphael  to  Fenelon  and 
Michael  Angelo  to  Bossuet.  Since  the  age  of  Mon- 
tesquieu we  can  find  a  more  apt  comparison,  not,  how- 
ever, in  literature,  but  in  the  art  of  music.  Mozart 


126  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

may  represent  Raphael,  and  Beethoven,  Michael  An- 
gelo.  Like  the  illustrious  painters,  they  are  constant- 
ly placed  in  contrast,  and  the  comparison  only  increas- 
es their  reputation,  throwing  additional  glory  upon 
each. 

When  Michael  Angelo  Buonarotti  (1474-1564), 
who  had  for  nurse  the  wife  of  a  stone-mason,  carved, 
at  fifteen  years  of  age,  as  a  pastime,  that  mask  of  a  Faun 
which  won  for  him  admission  to  the  academy  of  Lo- 
renzo the  Magnificent,  no  one — not  even  he  himself — 
surmised  that,  in  addition  to  becoming  a  great  statu- 
ary, he  would  also  become  a  great  painter  and  architect. 

This  is  not  the  place  to  enumerate  his  triumphs 
as  a  sculptor,  from  the  Druiikcn  Bacchus,  now  in  the 
Uffizi  of  Florence,  to  the  Moses  in  the  church  of 
San  Pietro  in  Vincula,  at  Home  ;  but  we  may  relate 
as  a  unique  event  in  the  history  of  art  how  he  was  en- 
abled to  fulfil  the  proud  boast :  "  I  will  build  the 
Pantheon  of  Agrippa  in  the  air."  It  was  in  1546  that 
the  pope  Paul  III.,  "  inspired  by  God  himself,"  as 
Yasari  says,  named  Michael  Angelo,  then  seventy- 
two  years  old,  architect  of  St.  Peter's.  Michael  An- 
gelo refused  at  first,  but  he  was  obliged  to  give  way, 
and  began  at  this  advanced  age  his  apprenticeship  in 
this  new  art.  Wild,  morose,  misanthropic,  brusque 
in  words  without  being  unkind,  full  of  uprightness 
and  probity,  living  with  sobriety  in  a  complete  soli- 
tude, refusing  all  presents  as  so  many  bonds  difficult 
to  shake  off,  Michael  Angelo  changed  all  the  plans, 
which  had  till  then  been  a  fruitful  source  of  profit,  "  a 


KOMAN   SCHOOL.  127 

veritable  shop,"  for  the  various  superintendents  of 
the  works.  In  the  decree  of  Paul  III.  naming  him 
architect-in-chief,  with  full  powers,  he  caused  to  be  in- 
serted a  proviso  that  his  services  should  be  gratuitous. 
Michael  Angelo  worked  during  eighteen  years  at  the 
building  of  the  cupola,  that  is  to  say,  until  he  died, 
after  having  been  employed,  praised,  and  respected, 
by  the  popes  Julius  II.,  Leo  X.,  Clement  VII.,  Paul 
ID.,  Julius  III.,  Paul  IV.,  and  Pius  IV.,  by  Francis 
I.  of  France,  the  Emperor,  Charles  V.,  the  Sultan  Sol- 
iman,  the  signory  of  Venice,  the  Medici,  and  the  Re- 
public of  Florence. 

It  was  also  by  compulsion  that  Michael  Angelo 
became  a  painter  before  being  an  architect.  From 
the  first  he  had  shown  himself  an  admirable  draughts- 
man. At  tweiity-nine  years  of  Stge,  and  in  rivalry 
with  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  he  had  drawn  that  famous 
cartoon  named  the  War  of  the  Pisans,  because  it  rep- 
resented an  incident  of  the  struggle  between  Florence 
and  Pisa.  This  wonder  in  the  art  of  drawing  became 
the  common  school  of  all  the  artists  of  Italy.  Taking 
advantage  of  the  troubles  with  which  Florence  was 
agitated,  at  the  time  of  the  fall  of  the  republican  Gon- 
falonier Soderini  and  the  recall  of  the  Medici,  in  1 512, 
the  sculptor  Baccio  Bandinelli,  an  arrogant,  envious, 
and  cowardly  rival,  obtained  admittance  to  the  hall 
where  this  masterpiece  was  kept,  and  cut  it  to  shreds. 
The  engraving,  which  has  preserved  a  part  of  it,  was 
made  from  a  copy  taken  before  this  wanton  crimi  was 
committed. 


128  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

The  Sistine  Chapel  at  the  Vatican  is  for  Michael 
Angelo,  as  a  painter,  what  the  Stanze  are  for  Raphael 
— his  domain,  his  kingdom,  his  triumph.  Twelve  im- 
mense frescoes,  the  works  of  eminent  artists,  Lusa 
Signorelli,  Sandro  Boticelli,  Cosimo  Rosselli,  Ghir- 
landaio,  and  Perugino,  entirely  cover  the  two  side  walls, 
and  show  at  once  by  their  preservation  and  beauty 
what  might  be  expected  from  frescoes.  But  all  of 
these  are  crushed  by  the  superiority  of  the  two  works 
by  Michasl  Angelo,  the  ceiling  and  the  List  Judg- 
ment. It  was  the  warlike  pope  Julius  II.,  who,  hav- 
ing sent  for  him  to  Rome,  commanded  him  to  paint 
the  ceiling — that  is  to  say,  to  fill  with  painting  all  the 
compartments  of  an  ornamented  vault  which  covers 
the  whole  chapel.  Michael  Angelo  only  accepted  by 
constraint,  and  in  spite  of  himself,  this  vast  commis- 
sion, for  he  was  unskilled  in  the  processes  of  fresco- 
painting,  and  the  furious  impatience  of  Julius  II.,  who 
felt  that  he  was  growing  old,  did  not  allow  him  to 
finish  his  work  as  he  would  have  desired.  The  pope 
wished  that  he  should  enliven  his  pictures  by  puerile 
ornaments.  "  Holy  Father,"  he  replied,  "  the  men 
whom  I  have  painted  were  not  wealthy,  but  holy  per- 
sons, who  despised  riches."  Michael  Angelo  began 
this  great  work  in  1507,  and  marvellous  to  relate,  fin- 
ished it  in  the  space  of  twenty  months,  alone,  and 
without  assistan.ce  of  any  sort.  As  he  made  his  own 
sculptor's  tools,  so  he  made  for  himself,  in  order  to 
work  during  the  night,  a  sort  of  cardboard  helmet,  at 
the  top  of  which  he  fastened  a  candle,  leaving  thus 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  131 

both  hands  free,  yet  carrying  his  own  light.  He  shut 
himself  up  during  whole  days  in  the  chapel,  the  keys 
of  which  had  been  given  him,  and  allowed  no  one  to 
enter — not  even  to  prepare  his  colors.  It  is  however 
believed  that  Bramante  obtained  leave  of  entrance 
for  his  nephew  Raphael,  who  thus  studied  the  style 
of  Michael  Angelo  before  commencing  the  frescoes  in 
the  Stanze  and  the  Loggie,  and  who  certainly  imitated 
him  in  the  figure  of  the  prophet  Isaiah  at  the  church 
of  St.  Augustine,  as  if  wishing  by  anticipation  to  con- 
tradict the  saying  of  Madame  de  Stael — Michael  An- 
gelo is  the  painter  of  the  Old  Testament,  .Raphael  the 
painter  of  the  Gospel. 

The  ceiling  of  the  Sistine  contains,  in  its  numerous 
compartments  of  all  shapes,  several  subjects  taken 
from  the  Old  Testament,  and,  in  its  twelve  penden- 
tives,  different  isolated  personages,  such  as  patriarchs, 
prophets,  and  sibyls.  All  these  compositions  are 
known  from  engravings,  and  it  is  seen  with  what  won- 
derful skill  Michael  Angelo  adjusted  them  in  the 
frames  so  ill-contrived  for  large  painting.  When  he 
had  to  depict,  for  example,  the  creation  of  the  world, 
there  was  so  little  room,  that  he  was  only  able  to  show 
the  head  and  hands  of  the  Eternal  Father.  But  that 
head  and  those  hands  which  till  the  whole  frame  give 
a  clear  idea  of  the  Great  CUEATOR — all  intelligence 
and  power.  In  the  midst  of  these  strong,  terrible, 
and  sometimes  grotesque  figures,  with  which  the  ca- 
pricious compartments  of  the  vault  are  filled,  the 
Creation  of  J£ve  is  a  picture  of  such  charming  grace, 


132 


WONDEKS    OF    ITALIAN   ART. 


that  it  arrests  the  spectator.     As  for  the  Creation  of 
Man,  "it  is,  in  my  eyes,"  says  M.  Constantino,  "the 


THE  ERYTHRAEAN  SIBYL. 

In  the  Sistine  C'fiapd.     By  Michael  Anyelo. 

most  sublime  point  to  which  modern  art  has  risen.  .  . 
What  power  in  the  gesture  of  the  Creator !    He  passes 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  133 

and  without  deigning  to  stop,  lie  creates  man.  .  .  This 
piece  unites  everything,  tlie  sublime  in  thought  and 


THE  DELPHIC  SIBYL. 
In  the  Sistine  Chapel.     By  JUichuel  Angela. 

the  sublime  in  execution  !  "     Amongst  the  prophets 
we  remark  Isaiah  buried  in  such  profound  meditation, 


134: 


WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 


that  he  seems  to  turn  himself  slowly  even  at  the  voice 
of  the  angel  who  calls  him.     The  sibyls  have  a  mid- 


THE  PROPHET  JOEL. 
In  the  Sistine  Chapel.     By  Michael  Angela. 

die  character,  between  the  inspiration  of  a  saint  and  the 
fury  of  a  sorceress,  which  well  accords  with  the  strange 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  135 

equivocal  part  which  the  church  has  assigned  to  them. 
In  all  this  great  work  "  there  is,"  says  M.  Charles 
Blanc,  "  a  singular  contrast  between  the  pride  of  in- 
vention and  the  apparent  facility  of  execution.  The 
general  appearance  of  the  heads  is  formidable,  but  the 
colors  are  broken  and  softened  ;  the  thought  is  superb, 
but  the  touch  is  delicate.  These  terrible  figures  speak 
strongly  to  the  soul  and  softly  to  the  eyes."  It  is  vex- 
atious not  to  be  able  to  admire  at  leisure  the  infinite 
details  of  this  magnificent  ceiling,  in  which  Michael 
Angelo  seems  to  have  understood  the  beautiful,  like 
the  ancients,  by  seeking  it  in  greatness,  and  the 
true,  which  excludes  neither  simplicity  nor  grace. 
But  besides  that  it  is  not  easy  to  penetrate  into  cer- 
tain parts  of  the  chapel,  which  are  thus  too  far  from 
the  eye,  it  would  be  necessary,  in  order  not  to  dislo- 
cate one's  neck,  to  imitate  a  certain  English  visitor, 
who,  lying  down  without  any  ceremony  on  his  back, 
with  an  opera-glass  in  his  hand,  shifted  his  vertical 
observatory  from  place  to  place.  This  is  the  incon- 
venience of  all  ceilings. 

The  great  fresco  of  the  Last  Judgment,  which  oc- 
cupies the  whole  wall  opposite  the  entrance,  was 
executed  thirty  years  after  the  paintings  on  the  vaulted 
ceiling,  and  the  change  which  that  period  had  made  in 
the  character  of  the  man  is  shown  by  the  change  in 
the  style  of  his  work.  It  was  after  his  quarrel  with 
Julius  II.,  and  the  strange  reconciliation  which  fol- 
lowed it— after  his  embassy  to  Bologna — after  the 
long  siege  of  Florence,  in  1530,  when  this  republican 


136  WONDERS    OF    ITALIA*?  ART. 

town  struggled  alone,  long  and  valiantly,  against  the 
pope,  the  emperor,  and  the  Medici,  leagued  together 
Lr  its  ruin,  when  Michael  Angelo,  named  by  the 
council  of  the  ten  procuratnre  generate  of  the  works 
of  defence,  remained  six  whole  months  on  the  Hill  of 
San  Miniato  ; — it  was  after  the  chief  acts  of  his  polit- 
ical life  that  he  resolved  to  paint  a  subject  so  thor- 
oughly in  accordance  with  the  nature  of  his  stern  and 
rugged  genius.  When  informed  of  the  studies  Michac  1 
Angelo  was  engaged  in,  the  pope  Paul  III.  went  to 
the  studio  of  the  artist,  escorted  by  ten  cardinals,  and 
with  this  pomp  and  solemnity,  unusual  in  the  arts, 
entreated  him  to  execute,  on  the  large  panel  in  the 
Sistine  Chapel,  the  work  for  which  he  had  prepared 
the  cartoons  under  the  pontificate  of  Clement  "VII. 
Michael  Angelo  began  his  picture  in  1532,  and  un- 
covered it  nine  years  later,  on  Christmas  day,  1541, 
having  then  reached  the  age  of  sixty-seven. 

Always  fond  of  solitude,  and  having  passed  a  life 
without  pleasures,  without  amusement,  and  without 
any  other  passion  but  that  of  art,  his  imagination  still 
full  of  the  horrors  of  which  he  had  been  the  witness 
and  almost  the  victim  at  the  taking  of  Florence  by 
the  Meclici,  and  the  sack  of  Rome  by  the  troops  of 
Charles  V.,  his  mind  tilled  with  the  poems  of  Dante, 
a  faithful  disciple  of  the  Reformer-Martyr,  Savonarola, 
bearing  also  the  name  of  the  Angel  of  Justice,  as 
Raphael  had  borne  that  of  the  Angel  of  Mercy,  all 
the  wild  melancholy  with  which  the  soul  of  Michael 
Augelo  was  filled  burst  forth  in  this  composition. 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  137 

One  would  say  that  Bossuet  was  interpreting  Michael 
Angelo,  when  he  says,  in  his  sermon  on  the  Last 
Judgment :  "  Yes,  I  avow  it,  God  also  will  become 
cruel  and  pitiless.  After  his  goodness  has  been  des- 
pised, he  will  carry  his  vengeance  so  far  as  to  wash 
his  hands  hi  the  blood  of  sinners.  All  the  just  will 
join  in  derision  with  God  ;  they  will  laugh  at 
the  sinner,  and  say :  '  This  is  the  man  who  put 
not  his  trust  in  God.'"  And,  indeed,  the  Christ 
of  Michael  Angelo  is  rather  a  thundering  Jupiter 
than  the  merciful  Redeemer  of  men,  the  Lamb,  the 
humble  Son  of  Mary ;  and  the  angels,  the  saints,  the 
elect,  seem  also  as  tierce  and  furious  as  the  demons 
and  the  reprobates. 

I  need  not  go  into  all  the  details  of  this  vast  poem, 
in  which  appear  three  hundred  personages.  It  is 
sufficient  to  mention  that  Michael  Angelo  has  depict- 
ed the  scene  described  in  this  verse  of  St.  Matthew : 
"  They  shall  see  the  Son  of  Man  coming  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven  with  power  and  great  glory ; "  that  in  the 
centre  of  the  higher  part  or  celestial  seat  of  Christ  is 
the  inexorable  and  terrible  judge,  who  weighs  in  just 
balances  the  actions  of  men,  \vithout  being  softened 
even  by  the  tears  of  liis  mother  ;  that  around  Him, 
and  the  prophets  or  saints  attendant  on  Him,  a  group 
of  criminals  await  anxiously  the  sentence  of  II is 
mouth ;  that  the  angels  who  execute  His  decrees  take 
up  the  saints  to  heaven  or  deliver  the  condemned  to 
the  hands  of  devils;  that  in  the  lower  or  terrestrial 
part,  where  on  one  side  the  dead  awake  at  the  b!a3t 
of  the  everlasting  trumpets,  on  the  other  a  group  of 


138  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN  ART. 

the  condemned,  personifying  sins  and  vices,  are  piled 
on  the  fatal  boat  which  is  about  to  be  engulfed  in  a 
mouth  of  Hell. 

If  the  multiplicity  and  complication  of  the  epi- 
sodes require  a  long  and  sustained  attention,  at  all 
events  these  principal  features  stand  out  clearly,  and 
give  an  easy  key  to  the  whole  composition.  Instead 
of  entering  into  all  the  details  of  the  picture,  it  will  be 
better  to  warn  those  who  see  this  fresco,  either  in  the 
original  or  in  a  copy,  against  the  pretended  faults 
which  every  one  thinks  he  discovers  at  a  first  glance, 
and  which  certainly  could  not  have  escaped  the 
painter  himself,  any  more  than  the  thousands  of  visit- 
ors who  for  more  than  three  hundred  years  have 
pressed  around  his  work.  Whatever  Michael  Angelo 
did  here  he  did  of  set  purpose. 

The  first  of  these  faults,  so  often  discovered  and  so 
often  condemned,  is  the  disproportion  in  the  figures. 
Some  of  them,  such  as  that  of  Christ,  His  immediate 
attendants,  and  the  group  of  the  elect,  are  double  the 
size  of  the  others  in  the  lower  part.  They  also  show 
in  the  highest  degree  those  athletic  forms,  those  signs 
of  enormous  strength,  which  Michael  Angelo  affected 
and  even  carried  to  an  extreme.  This  disproportion 
is  glaring,  and  for  that  reason  we  must  seek  another 
explanation  than  a  blunder  of  the  artist.  We  must 
not  attribute  it  either  to  a  material  calculation  or  to 
an  exaggerated  effect  of  perspective ;  for  if  Michael 
Angelo  had  wished  that  result,  when  he  gradually 
made  the  figures  larger  from  the  bottom  to  the  top, 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  130 

from  the  condemned  to  Christ,  he  would  not  have 
failed  to  carry  it  still  further ;  but,  on  the  contrary, 
the  higher  groups,  for  example  that  of  the  angels  who 
bear  the  instruments  of  the  Passion,  gradually  dimin- 
ish until  they  become  the  size  of  the  men  at  the  bot- 
tom of  the  picture.  Michael  Angel o  had  another 
motive.  He  was  not  able  to  treat  this  final  comple- 
tion of  the  drama  of  humanity  as  a  scene  of  ordinary 
life,  or  a  simple  historical  picture ;  he  was  obliged,  in 
order  fully  to  translate  his  thought,  to  have  recourse 
to  old  Byzantine  allegories,  and  in  that  thought  the 
disproportion  of  height  and  strength  between  the  elect 
and  the  lost  simply  indicates  the  superiority  of  the 
former  over  the  latter.  It  seems  useless  to  seek  in 
more  or  less  ingenious  commentaries  another  reason 
for  a  fact  which  can  be  so  easily  explained. 

The  second  fault  which  has  been  frequently  point- 
ed out  is  not  physical  but  moral.  This  is  that  he  has 
placed  in  the  group  of  the  condemned,  to  the  right  of 
the  picture,  some  figures  which  are  too  grotesque  for 
the  holy  grandeur  of  the  subject,  and  details  so  child* 
ish  and  comic  as  to  be  more  suitable  for  a  Tempta- 
tion of  St.  Anthony,  by  Callot  or  Teniers,  than  for  a 
severe  and  biblical  work.  1  his  reproach  seems  better 
founded,  and  it  must  be  allowed  that  the  part  of  the 
picture  which  incurs  it  does  not  possess  all  the  eleva- 
tion and  majestic  beauty  of  the  rest  of  the  composi- 
tion. But  if  this  defect  cannot  be  justified  it  can  at 
least  be  explained.  Pious  and  austere,  a  sort  of  Jan- 
senist  at  Rome,  and  a  fiery  republican  at  Florence, 


140  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    AET. 

Michael  Angelo,  who  was  a  poet  in  several  ways,  has 
written  a  lively  satire  in  a  corner  of  the  picture, 
and  has  avenged  himself  thus  by  indestructible  epi- 
grams on  thoss  whom  he  could  neither  reform  nor 
vanquish.  Pride,  ambition,  avarice,  luxury,  every 
vice  piled  in  this  corner,  and  clothed  in  burlesque 
attributes — the:e  are  the  great  dignitaries  of  the 
church  who  dishonored  the  Roman  purple,  and  the 
members  or  chiefs  of  the  powerful  family  which  was 
depriving  his  country  of  her  liberty. 

I  should  prefer,  if  it  were  really  necessary  to  find 
faults  in  this  great  picture,  to  mention  one  which  has 
not  often  been  noticed  ;  I  should  rather  choose  to 
wonder  why  Michael  Angelo,. having  at  his  disposal 
all  the  religious  symbols  and  the  beliefs  of  tradition, 
should  not  have  marked  the  difference  more  clearly 
between  the  natures  of  heavenly  and  earthly  beings. 
All  the  angels,  as  well  those  who  sound  the  trumpets 
to  awake  the  dead,  as  those  who  execute  the  decrees 
of  Christ,  and  even  the  Judge  H-.m self,  are  merely 
men  —  lighting  athletes.  There  is  nothing  to  distin- 
guish them  from  common  mortals;  no  glories,  no  ex- 
tended wings,  none  of  the  insignia  admitted  alike  by 
religion  and  art.  From  this  there  arises  a  little  con- 
fusion, or  rather  an  increase  of  the  confusion  unavoid- 
able in  so  vast  and  complicated  a  subject.  As  for  the 
qualities  of  the  work,  the  majesty  of  the  arrangement, 
the  grandeur  of  the  whole,  the  variety  of  the  details, 
the  beauty  of  the  groups,  the  unrivalled  perfection  in 
the  drawing,  the  boldness  of  the  attitudes  and  fore- 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  141 

shortening,  the  knowledge  displayed  of  muscular  an- 
atomy, it  would  be  really  childish  to  dwell  on  these 
different  points,  and  to  add  our  praises  to  the  long 
acclamations  of  all  artists,  who  for  more  than  three 
centuries  hav.e  proclaimed  the  wonderful  merit  of  this 
gigantic  chef-d'oeuvre.  ';  We  may  esteem  ourselves 
happy,"  exclaims  Vasari,  "  when  we  have  seen  such 
a  prodigy  of  art  and  genius." 

The  fresco  of  Michael  Angelo  was  not  yet  finished 
when  it  was  nearly  being  destroyed.  From  the  de- 
nunciation of  his  chamberlain,  Biagio  of  Cesena,  who 
considered  the  paint'ng  more  suitable  for  a  bath-room 
or  even  a  tavern  than  for  the  pope's  chapel,  Paul  III. 
had,  for  a  short  time,  the  wish  to  have  it  destroyed. 
To  revenge  himself  on  his  denunciator,  Michael  An- 
gelo condemned  Biagio  to  the  pillory  of  immortality. 
He  painted  him  amongst  the  condemned  under  the 
form  of  Minos,  and  according  to  the  fiction  of  Dante 
in  the  fiith  canto  of  the  "  Inferno  ;  " 

Stravvi  Minos  orribilmente  e  ringia, 

that  is  to  say,  with  the  ass's  ears  of  Midas  and  a  ser- 
pent for  a  girdle,  which  recalls  the  lines  of  an  old 
Spanish  romance,  on  the  King  Rodrigo,  crying  out 
from  his  tomb : 

Ya  me  comen,  ya  me  comen, 
For  do  mas  pecado  habia. 

Biagio  complained  to  the  pope,  demanding  that  at 
least  his  features  should  be  effaced.  u  In  what  part 
of  his  picture  has  he  placed  you  ?  "  asked  the  pope. — 


142  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   AET. 

"  In  hell." — u  If  it  had  been  in  purgatory,  we  could 
have  got  you  out,  but  in  hell,  nulla  est  redemption 

In  his  turn  the  timorous  Paul  IV.  wished  to  get 
rid  of  all  the  nudities  which  such  a  subject  rendered 
inevitable.  He  sent  to  demand  the  sacrifice  of  Mich- 
ael Angelo !  "  Go  and  tell  the  pope,"  replied  the 
artist  coldly,  '"  that  he  had  better  turn  his  attention 
to  reforming  men  ;  this  is  less  easy  and  more  useful 
than  correcting  paintings."  A  little  later,  his  pupil, 
Daniel  of  Yolterra,  undertook  the  ridiculous  labor — 
a  real  sacrilege  towards  art — of  clothing  these  very 
innocent  nudities  ;  which  procured  him  the  surname 
of  Bracchettone  and  some  piquant  verses  by  Salvator 
Rosa. 

The  Last  Judgment,  much  injured  by  time,  damp, 
the  smoke  of  incense  and  tapers,  and  much  neglected 
by  the  guardians  of  the  Vatican,  has  been  besides 
ignominiously  spoiled  by  an  alteration  in  the  arch- 
itecture which  has  cut  off  all  the  higher  central  part 
of  the  fresco,  that  in  which  the  Eternal  Father  and 
the  Holy  Spirit  were  represented,  and  which  thus 
completed  the  meaning  of  the  composition.  This 
part  is  now  only  known  by  old  copies  made  before 
the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century.  This  is  not  all ; 
for  several  months  of  the  year,  and  precisely  those 
during  the  season  best  suited  for  travelling,  an  altar 
surmounted  by  a  huge  canopy  is  placed  exactly  in  the 
middle  of  the  fresco,  and  on  the  left  side  a  dais,  under 
which  the  pope  sits  when  present  at  the  services. 
The  spectator,  still  more  eager  to  see  the  work  of 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  143 

Michael  Angelo  than  to  hear  the  music  of  Palestrina 
or  of  Allegri,  examines  what  he  can  of  the  rest  of  the 
picture,  but  without  being  able  to  approach  nearer 
than  the  door,  where  the  halbert  of  a  stolid  Swiss 
guard,  in  a  motley  dress  of  a  hundred  colors  arrests 
him.  It  is  the  torture  of  Tantalus  applied  to  the  en- 
joyments of  sight  and  of  the  soul. 

It  is  known  that  Michael  Angelo  professed  to 
esteem  fresco  painting  alone,  and  that  he  despised  easel 
pictures.  "  It  is  a  woman's  occupation,"  said  he, 
meaning  possibly  Raphael.  Hence  the  easel  pictures 
he  has  left  are  extremely  rare.  Besides  his  portrait 
in  the  museum  of  the  capitol,  which  is  perhaps  by 
him,  there  are  only  two  known  in  the  whole  of  Italy. 
That  at  the  gallery  of  the  Uffizi  is  supposed  to  re- 
present the  Virgin  kneeling,  who  presents  the  child 
Jesus  to  Joseph  over  her  shoulder,  and  in  the  back- 
ground are  naked  figures  as  if  leaving  the  bath.  It 
is  called  a  Holy  Family r,  but  I  believe  it  is  merely  a 
human  family  and  the  personification  of  the  three 
ages.  It  was  done  for  a  Florentine  gentleman  named 
Agnolo  Doni,  who  having  at  first  thought  the  price 
fixed  by  Michael  Angelo  (seventy  crowns)  too  high, 
hastened  afterwards  to  give  double  what  the  artist 
proudly  demanded,  for  fear  he  should  raise  the  price. 
Although  Yasari  quotes  this  picture  in  the  gallery  of 
the  Uffizi  as  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  those  by 
Michael  Angelo,  we  must  not  seek  in  it  either  sim- 
plicity of  composition  or  graceful  or  powerful  expres- 
sion. It  is  a  tortured  subject,  a  confused  mixture  of 


144:  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

heads  and  limbs,  of  the  boldest  drawing  certainly, 
and  even  of  great  finish,  but  in  which  the  hard  out- 
lines and  dry  coloring  take  away  all  charm.  The 
second  picture  by  Michael  Angelo  is  in  the  gallery 
of  the  Pitti  palace.  It  is  of  the  Pare®,  or  Fates.  All 
the  good  qualities  and  defects  of  the  before-mentioned 
painting  are  to  be  found  in  it;  the  same  boldness  of 
design  and  finish  in  execution ;  but  also  the  same 
hardness  of  outline  and  dryness  of  coloring.  The 
ancients,  who  everywhere  sought  and  required  the 
beautiful,  made  the  Fates  three  beautiful  young  girls 
like  the  Graces.  Michael  Angelo  has  made  them  old, 
and  belonging  rather  to  the  family  of  witches.  Per- 
haps it  is  owing  to  him  that  this  transformation  has 
passed  into  a  tradition.  But  it  is  possible  that  besides 
the  Three  Ages  and  the  Three  Fates,  there  may  yet 
exist  another  easel-picture  by  Michael  Angelo.  At 
the  exhibition  of  art  in  Manchester  in  1857,  connois- 
seurs agreed  to  restore  to  the  great  painter  of  the 
Sistine,  an  unfinished  picture  that  had  been  ascribed 
until  then  to  his  master,  Ghirlandaio.  It  is  a  Ma- 
donna with  the  infant  Saviour  and  St.  John,  surround- 
ed by  a  group  of  four  angels.  It  is  said  to  be  superior 
to  the  other  two  works  of  the  same  nature,  known  to 
be  authentic.* 

"  Michael  Angelo,"  say  the  commentators  on  Va- 
sari,  "  was  very  original,  without  being  absolutely  the 

*  A  very  remarkable,  though  unfinished  painting  of  The  Entomb- 
ment,  attributed  to  Michael  Angelo,  has  recently  been  acquired  by  the 
National  Gallery  in  London. 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  145 

creator  of  drawing  and  sculpture.  He  had  studied 
Ghiberti  and  Donatello,  Masaccio  and  Orcagna,  Brun- 
elleschi  and  Yerocchio,  and  even  Leonardo  da  Yinci 
and  Raphael.  He  thankfully  acknowledged  his  ob- 
ligations to  Dante  and  Giotto.  His  pencil  had  not 
the  Lombard  suavity  of  Correggio,  the  Roman  grace 
of  Raphael,  the  Yenetian  magic  of  Giorgione  or  Tin- 
toretto, the  Spanish  richness  and  solidity  of  Murillo 
or  de  Ribera,  the  Flemish  splendor  and  harmony  of 
Rubens  or  Rembrandt,  the  French  tranquillity  and 
reflection  of  Lesueur  or  Poussin.  His  was  a  nature 
at  once  intrepid,  strong,  and  obstinate.  He  had 
genius  and  method ;  genius  by  nature,  method  from 
his  country,  Florence.  "  My  science,"  said  he,  "  will 
produce  ignorant  masters."  And  indeed  the  servile 
imitation  of  Michael  Angelo,  the  carrying  his  faults 
to  excess  and  the  absence  of  his  good  qualities,  have 
thrown  art  into  foolish  exaggerations.  Michael  An- 
gelo terminated  the  cycle  of  Florentine  art  which  had 
been  begun  by  Giotto.  After  him  there  only  remain- 
ed Rome — much  fallen — Yenice,  which  was  also  fall- 
ing, and  Bologna,  which  could  not  replace  Florence, 
Rome,  and  Yenice.  Michael  Angelo  is  himself  the 
representative  of  the  whole  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
with  its  melancholy  regrets,  its  bold  hopes,  its  long 
agony  of  trial,  its  gigantic  result.  Michael  Angelo  is 
the  true  statue  of  that  age,  its  most  faithful  and  com- 
plete image.  For  a  long  period  he  reigned  alone, 
acknowledged  by  all  as  the  legitimate,  all-powerful 
monarch.  When  Michael  Angelo  died  (1564),  Galileo 
10 


146  WONDERS   OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

was  born,  and  science  advanced  to  take  the  place  of 
art." 

Tin's  great  man,  says  also  Sir  Joshua  Reynolds,  is 
he  who  possessed  in  the  highest  degree  the  mechanism 
and  poetry  of  drawing.  The  noble  character,  the 
air,  the  attitude,  which  he  has  imparted  to  his  figures, 
were  all  found  in  his  sublime  imagination,  and  even 
antiquity  had  not  furnished  him  with  models.  The 
Homer  of  painting,  his  sibyls  and  prophets  awake  the 
same  sensations  as  the  reading  of  the  Greek  poets. 
And  this  comparison  of  Reynolds  recalls  the  saying 
of  the  sculptor  Bouchardon  :  "  When  I  read  the 
1  Iliad '  I  imagine  that  I  am  twenty  feet  in  height." 
I  will  add  this  in  conclusion :  Michael  Angelo,  who 
was  a  painter  and  architect  like  Bramante,  a  painter 
and  sculptor  like  Alonzo  Cano,  a  painter  and  poet 
like  Oreagna,  Bronzino,  Cespedes,  and  Salvator,  a 
painter  and  statesman  like  Rubens,  and  greater  than 
them  all  in  every  way,  —  Michael  Angelo,  when 
already  old,  executed,  almost  at  the  same  time,  the 
three  masterpieces  which  have  immortalized  him  in 
the  three  arts.  He  carved  the  Moses,  he  painted  the 
Last  Judgment,  and  he  raised  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  ; 
a  striking  proof  that  in  arts,  as  in  literature,  the  best 
works  are  usually  those  of  a  man  of  genius  in  advanced 
life,  when  he  is  able  to  unite  the  experience  and  firm- 
ness of  advanced  life  to  the  fire  of  an  imagination 
ever  young. 

Prom  Michael  Angelo  we  pass  to  Raphael  (1483- 
1520).  We  do  not  attempt  to  give  here  a  history  of 


KOMAN    SCHOOL. 


147 


the  painters  ;  we  endeavor  merely  to  trace  a  rapid 
sketch  of  the  history  of  painting ;  it  will  therefore 
suffice  to  remind  the  reader  that  the  father  of  Raphael 
— Giovanni  de'  Santi,  or  Sanzio  d'Urbino — after  hav- 
ing given  to  his  son  the  first  lessons  in  an  art  in  which 


THE  MADONNA  BELLA  CASA  D'ALBA. 

By  Rapha  i — In  the  Hermitage.  St.  Petersburg. 

he  had  himself  acquired  some  renown,  had  the  mod- 
esty to  see  that  he  was  not  equal  to  the  education  of 
such  a  pupil,  and  the  good  sense  to  put  him  under 
the  care  of  Perugino. 


148  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

The  first  works  of  Raphael,  whicli  he  executed  at 
Florence,  are  only  imitations  of  that  illustrious  mas- 
ter ;  amongst  these  are  the  St.  Nicholas  of  Polentino, 
and  the  Holy  Family  of  Fermo,  each  of  them  signed 
Raphael  Sanctius  Urbinas  cetatis  XVIII.  pvnxit. 
It  is  the  Brera  gallery  at  Milan  that  can  boast  of 
possessing  the  first  important  painting  of  the  "  Divine 
Youth,"  the  Sposalizio,  which  he  painted  when 
twenty-one  years  old,  for  the  little  town  of  Citta  di 
Castello,  near  Urbino.  In  this  Marriage  of  the  Virgin 
Raphael  still  betrays  something  of  the  pupil.  The 
almost  too  symmetrical  arrangement  of  the  two  equal 
groups  which  meet  just  in  the  middle  of  the  facade 
of  the  temple,  which  itself  occupies  the  exact  middle 
in  the  background  of  the  picture,  the  figures  usually 
long  and  thin — in  short,  all  the  details  recall  the  style 
of  Perugino  rather  than  of  Raphael.  There  is  in  it 
at  least  a  remembrance  of  the  great  and  fine  fresco  of 
Perugino  in  the  Sistine  Chapel,  which  represents  the 
Mission  of  St.  Peter.  But  what  a  style  there  is  even 
in  the  imitation.  What  grace,  unknown  until  then, 
is  given  to  the  attitudes,  the  faces,  and  drapery ! 
What  variety  and  happiness  in  the  expression  of 
modesty,  joy,  and  jealousy  !  What  perfection  in  the 
outlines !  what  exquisite  finish !  Perugino  must  have 
found  in  this  work  the  early  accomplishment  of  the 
prophecy  he  had  uttered  on  seeing  the  first  attempts 
of  the  child  Raphael  when  he  asked  to  be  admitted  to 
his  studio,  "Let  him  be  my  pupil;  he  will  soon  be- 
come mv  master." 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  149 

Florence,  the  teacher  of  Raphael,  and  through 
Raphael  of  Rome,  has  preserved  many  works  of  this 
illustrious  disciple  of  its  school,  and  not  merely  of  his 
youth,  but  of  every  period  of  his  short  life.  There 
are  six  in  the  Tribune  alone  of  the  museum  of  the 
Uffizi.  It  is  a  happy  circumstance  that  these  belong 
to  his  three  styles,  or  rather,  to  speak  correctly,  they 
illustrate  three  distinct  periods  of  progress  in  one  and 
the  same  style,  and  thus  show  the  beginning,  the 
growth,  and  the  perfection,  of  that  incomparable 
genius,  whom  death  alone  prevented  from  attaining 
to  a  still  greater  degree  of  perfection.  Belonging  to 
his  first  style  is  the  portrait  of  a  Florentine  lady, 
whose  name  is  unknown,  seen  in  half-length  and 
seated ;  she  is  painted  in  the  style  of  Leonardo  da 
Vinci,  but  with  more  timidity.  There  are  two  Holy 
Families  in  his  second  manner,  both  composed  only 
of  the  Yirgin  and  the  two  children,  and  both  with 
landscape  backgrounds.  One,  known  by  the  name 
of  the  Virgin  with  the  Goldfinch  (Madonna  del  Car- 
dellino),  was  done  for  his  friend  Lorenzo  Nasi,  in  1504. 
This  picture  was  nearly  being  destroyed  by  a  land- 
slip on  Monte  Giorgio,  which  overwhelmed  the  house 
of  the  Nasi.  But  the  fragments  were  found  and  care- 
fully put  together.  It  is  unnecessary  to  give  a  long 
description  of  this  charming  composition,  as  the  en- 
gravings of  it  are  well  known.  The  Virgin  is  repre- 
sented seated  with  a  book  in  her  hand,  whilst  Jesus, 
standing  between  her  knees  and  with  His  foot  resting 
on  hers,  presents  a  bird  to  His  young  friend  St.  John, 


150  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    AKT. 

with  that  ineffable  look  of  holy  affection  that  Raphael 
has  sometimes  given  him.  The  other  Holy  Family, 
which  has  no  particular  name  that  I  know  of,  is  more 
studied  perhaps,  and  of  a  more  animated  arrange- 
ment ;  the  heads  of  the  two  children  are  of  perfect 
grace  and  truth,  and  yet  this  picture  is  less  attractive 
than  the  other,  which,  more  simple  and  more  modest, 
is  really  enchanting. 

The  three  other  pictures  in  the  Tribune,  St.  John 
in  the  Desert,  and  the  portraits  of  Julius  II.  and  the 
Fornarina,  are  in  Raphael's  third  manner.  The  St. 
John,  the  only  fault  of  which  is  its  too  great  youth- 
fulness  (required,  however,  by  tradition),  is  very  well 
known,  because  several  copies  of  it  were  made  under 
the  eyes  of  Raphael,  and  these  were  so  good  that  it  was 
for  some  time  doubted  which  was  the  original.  But 
one  circumstance,  added  to  its  striking  beauty,  de- 
cides the  question  in  favor  of  the  St.  John  of  the 
Uffizi.  This  is  that  it  is  painted  on  canvas,  and  all 
the  copies  on  panel.  Now  it  is  known  that  the  primi- 
tive St.  John,  destined  for  the  Cardinal  Colonna,  who 
made  a  present  of  it  to  his  physician,  Giacomo  di 
Carpi,  from  whose  hands  it  passed  to  the  Medici,  was 
painted  on  canvas.  All  the  details  of  this  picture 
besides  corroborate  this  proof.  The  portrait  of  Ju- 
lius II.,  of  which  several  replicas  exist — in  the  Pitti 
Palace,  in  the  Museum  at  Naples,  and  in  the  National 
Gallery  of  London,  has  a  vivacity  of  coloring  which 
appears  incredible  after  three  centuries  and  a  half. 
As  for  the  portrait  of  the  Furnarina,  we  cannot  help 


KoMAN    SCHOOL.  151 

feeling  some  displeasure  on  seeing  such  fresh  laugh- 
ing features,  so  lull  of  life  arid  health,  in  that  fatal 

c?  '  ' 

beauty  whose  selfishness  and  jealousy  shortened,  it  is 


LA  FORXARINA. 

By  Raphael.    In  the  Uffizi  Palace,  Florence. 

said,  the  precious  days  of  the  greatest  of  painters,  who 
was  finally  consigned  to  a  premature  grave  by  a  medi- 
cal treatment  still  more  falal.*  La  Fornarina,  is 
represented  in  a  rather  strange  costume  ;  she  is  clothed 

*  Raphael   was  kille'l  by  an  iiDne,'P3>;iry  blooding  after  a  chill. 
(Quaircniere  dc  Q  lincy.) 


152  WONDEKS    OF    ITALIAN   ART. 

almost  as  a  Bacchante,  and  wears  on  her  left  shoulder 
a  panther's  skin,  the  same  which  Raphael  painted  in 
the  St.  John  and  in  the  Madonna  deW  Impannata. 
At  the  period  when  Yasari  wrote  his  book  the  por- 
trait of  the  Fornarina  belonged  to  Matteo  Botti, 
guarda-roba  of  the  grand  duke  Cosmo  L,  to  whom 
he  left  it  by  will.  However,  notwithstanding  this 
testimony  and  tradition,  many  connoisseurs  doubt  if 
this  portrait  be  really  that  of  the  baker's  daughter  of 
Trastevere,  and  even  whether  it  be  the  work  of  Ra- 
phael. Some  maintain  that  it  is  the  portrait  of  the 
celebrated  Marchioness  of  Pescara,  Yittoria  Colonna, 
b}7  Sebastian  del  Piombo ;  others,  the  portrait  by 
Giorgione  of  that  much-loved  mistress  whose  infidel- 
ity caused  his  death. 

At  the  Pitti  Palace  there  are  eleven  pictures  bear 
ing  the  name  of  Raphael.  In  this  number  are  five 
portraits,  besides  the  repetition  of  that  of  Julius  II. 
These  are  the  portraits  of  Angelo  and  Maddalena 
Doni ;  of  the  learned  Latin  scholar  Tommaso  Fedra 
Inghirami,  who  is  called  the  Florentine  Cicero ;  of 
the  Cardinal  Bernardo  Davizi  de  Bibbiena,  who 
wished  Raphael  to  marry  his  niece ;  *  lastly  a  full- 
length  portrait  of  the  pope  Leo  X.,  with  the  two  car- 
dinals Julius  de  Medici  and  de  Bossi.  We  know 
what  the  portraits  of  Raphael  are,  especially  when 
they  belong,  like  this  last,  to  his  greatest  style.  All 

*  Raphael  always  deferred  this  marriage,  expecting  a  promotion 
of  cardinals  by  Leo  X.,  who  had  promised  him  the  hat.  His  prema- 
ture end  prevented  both  promotion  and  marriage. 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  153 

praises  would  be  superfluous.  There  is  in  the  Louvre 
the  portrait  of  the  poet  Baldassare  Castiglione,  the 
sight  of  which  will  give  more  effectual  teaching  on 
this  point  than  any  words  could  convey.  We  will  con- 
fine ourselves  to  relating  the  little  trick  to  which  the 
Pitti  palace  owes  the  possession  of  the  portrait  of 
Leo  X.  It  had  been  ordered  of  the  great  painter  by 
the  family  of  the  Medici,  to  be  offered  as  a  present 
to  the  Duke  of  Mantua.  But  Ottaviano  de  Medici 
thought  the  portrait  so  fine  that  he  wished  to  keep 
it,  yet  without  withholding  the  promised  present.  He 
therefore  charged  Andrea  del  Sarto  to  make  a  copy, 
which  was  sent  to  Mantua  as  the  work  of  Raphael, 
whilst  the  original,  which  had  come  from  Rome  to 
Florence,  remained  there. 

One  of  the  compositions  of  Raphael,  which  may 
without  a  play  upon  words  be  called  at  the  same  time 
one  of  his  smallest,  and  yet  greatest  pictures,  is  the 
Vision  of  Ezekiel.  Taking  as  his  subject  the  sacred 
narrative  as  given  in  the  first  chapter  of  the  prophet 
Ezekiel,  a  subject  at  once  vast,  grand,  and  compli- 
-e&ted,  Raphael  has  found  means  to  represent  it,  with- 
out diminishing  its  grandeur,  within  the  compass  of 
a  frame  of  a  foot  square.  Taking  the  vision  of  Eze- 
kiel, as  it  was  then  explained,  for  an  apparition  of 
Jehovah  speaking  by  the  voice  of  the  four  evangelists, 
he  has  wonderfully  grouped  the  four  symbolical  ani- 
mals at  the  foot  of  the  Eternal,  who  seems  to  throw 
the  lightning  of  His  glance  on  His  hard-hearted  and 
rebellious  people.  In  this  little  picture,  so  wonder- 


154  ••          WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

fully  finished,  Raphael  has  proved  incontestably  that 
the  greatness  of  a  picture  depends  not  on  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  frame,  hut  on  the  style  of  the  painting. 

The  other  compositions  of  Raphael  at  the  Pitti 
palace  comprise  the  three  different  forms  of  Madon- 
nas which  he  has  so  often  and  so  variously  repeated. 
The  first  is  one  of  those  glorified  and  triumphant 
virgins,  who  from  her  throne  receives  the  worship  of 
the  angels  and  saints.  The  second  is  a  complete 
Holy  Family,  where  no  person  is  wanting  from  the 
traditional  number.  The  others  are  simple  Madon- 
nas, that  is  to  say,  the  Virgin  Mother  bearing  lier 
child  in  her  arms,  and  sometimes  accompanied  by 
His  young  precursor,  St.  John  the  Baptist.  The 
name  given  to  the  first  is  the  Madonna  del  fialdac- 
chino,  because  the  throne  on  which  Mary  sits  is  cov- 
ered with  a  dais.  This  picture  has  several  points  of 
resemblance  to  the  Madonna  di  Foliyno  in  the  Mu- 
seum at  Rome,  and  the  famous  Madonna  del 
at  Madrid.  The  Holy  Family  has  been  called 
Impannata,  or  of  the  paper  window,  because  the 
house  of  the  carpenter  Joseph  is  represented  with  this 
humble  substitute  for  glass  used  in  dwellings  of  the 
poor.  One  of  the  two  remaining  Madonnas  is  called 
del  Gran  Duca,  or  del  Viaygio.  The  Duke  Ferdi- 
nand III.,  it  is  said,  liked  it  so  much,  that  he  carried 
it  about  everywhere  with  him,  and  said  his  devotions 
before  it  morning  and  evening.  It  is  one  of  the  sim- 
plest Madonnas  that  the  pencil  of  Raphael  has  pro- 
duced. The  Virgiu  Mother  is  shown  in  half-length 


BOMAN    SCHOOL.  155 

only,  holding  the  Holy  Child,  still  in  early  infancy, 
in  her  arms.  With  eyes  cast  down,  and  humble  pos- 
ture, she  is  so  modest,  so  pure,  so  angelic,  that  Fer- 
dinand might  well  carry  the  picture  about  with  him 
as  the  ancients  did  their  penates,  and  place  it  on  the 
domestic  altar  amongst  the  relics  of  his  patron  saints. 
But  I  much  doubt  if  he  would  ever  think  of  pray- 
ing before  the  other  Madonna  of  his  palace,  although 
much  more  celebrated  and  valuable  as  a  work  of  art, 
and  often  called  by  connoisseurs  the  chef-d'oeuvre  of 
Raphael.  After  thus  speaking  of  it,  it  is  almost  need- 
less to  add  that  I  refer  to  the  Madonna  della  Sedia. 
Three  persons  are  here  put  into  a  small  round  frame, 
and  notwithstanding  this  singular  difficulty,  doubt- 
less imposed  on  him  by  the  caprice  of  some  purchaser, 
the  arrangement  is  so  natural,  so  graceful,  and  so 
perfect,  that  it  might  be  supposed  the  free  choice  of 
the  artist.  Instead  of  finding  in  it  the  slightest  em- 
barrassment, as  in  a  difficulty  overcome,  we  see  all 
the  ease  of  spontaneous  creation.  St.  John,  thrown 
back  a  little  in  the  shade,  worships  timidly  and  hum- 
bly Him  whom  it  will  be  his  glory  to  announce  to  the 
world.  The  child  Jesus,  in  whom  intelligence  and 
goodness  shine  forth,  but  \vho  appears  rather  pale  and 
suffering,  smiles  sadly.  Me  is  represented  as  already 
the  victim  resigned  to  sacrifice  and  to  the  ingratitude 
of  those  for  whom  He  is  to  suffer.  As  for  the  Virgin, 
leaning  over  the  body  of  her  son,  whom  she  clasps  in 
her  arms,  but  turning  her  eyes  on  the  spectator,  she 
is  very  different  from  the  usual  type  of  Raphael's 


156 


WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 


Virgins,  and  from  all  the  school  which  preceded  him. 
This  is  the  only  one  of  his  simple  Madonnas  who  has 
not  her  eyes  cast  down.  Belonging  more  to  the 
world  than  the  Madonna  del  Gran  Duca  and  the 
Madonna  del  Cardellino^  but  still  more  beautiful,  and 


THE  MADONNA  DELLA  SEDIA. 
By  Raphael.    In  the  Pltti  Palace,  Florence. 

adorned  with  rich  ornaments  and  brilliant  garments, 
she  is  the  model  of  ideal  beauty,  but  in  accordance 
with  Grecian  rather  than  Christian  thought.  It  is 
thus  that  I  imagine  that  Venus  Anadyomcne  of 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  157 

Apelles,  which  all  Greece  came  to  see  in  his  studio, 
as  they  did  the  Venus  of  Praxiteles,  in  the  temple  of 
Cnidus.  Raphael  has  in  fact  here  painted  a  Chris- 
tian Yen  us.  This  is  the  most  decided  attempt  that 
his  art  had  yet  made  to  free  itself  from  the  bonds  of 
religious  tradition,  thenceforth  to  be  treated  with 
more  independence  than  before,  as  a  sort  of  mythol- 
ogy which  the  artist  may  interpret  at  will. 

Before  having  seen  the  Madonna  delta  Sedia, 
perhaps  (I  make  the  confession  with  humility)  I  had 
admired  Raphael  more  from  the  accounts  of  others, 
and  from  the  greatness  of  his  fame,  than  from  my 
own  taste  and  convictions.  There  happened  to  me 
before  this  picture  what  often  takes  place  in  all  the 
arts :  it  revealed  its  author  to  me,  who  until  then  I 
had  very  imperfectly  understood.  .Revelation  is  the 
proper  word,  for  it  was  only  on  my  return  that  the 
works  of  Raphael,  which  I  had  before  seen  in  Paris, 
Milan,  and  Bologna,  appeared  to  me  to  possess  really 
that  divine  beauty,  that  recognized  superiority  which 
1  had  granted  them  to  some  extent  on  the  judgment 
of  others,  by  habit  and  imitation.  I  visited  the  Pitti 
palace,  as  I  did  the  rest  of  Italy  and  Europe,  in  the 
company  of  one  keenly  alive  to  the  beautiful  in  all 
the  arts  and. in  every  style.  We  stood  long  before 
this  picture,  devouring  it  with  our  gaze,  and  when  at 
length  we  turned  to  each  other,  we  found  that  the 
eyes  of  each  were  filled  with  tears.  There  is  a  point 
where  admiration,  like  extreme  joy,  causes  almost  an 
agony  of  grief. 


158  WONDEKS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

The  Madonna  delta  Sedia  has  been  popularized 
by  every  method  which  is  available  to  make  the 
painter's  work  familiar  to  the  world,  by  thousands  of 
copies,  of  drawings,  and  engravings.  Garavaglia, 
Raphael  Morghen,  and  a  hundred  others  in  every 
country  have  striven  who  should  best  imitate  it  in  en- 
graving ;  and  photography  now  attempts  one  of  its 
miracles  in  the  effort  to  reproduce  it.  I  affirm  how- 
ever that  those  who  have  not  seen  it  in  the  original 
do  not  know  it.  Still  more,  if  I  were  king  of  Italy,  a 
successor  of  the  dukes  of  Tuscany,  and  this  divine 
chef-d'oeuvre  belonged  to  me,  I  should  certainly  not 
carry  egotism  so  far  as  to  deprive  the  rest  of  the  world 
of  it ;  I  should  show  it,  on  the  contrary,  to  all  comers. 
But  I  should  forbid  for  the  future  all  copies,  painted 
or  engraved.  They  are  so  many  profanations.  I 
should  say:  "Let  those  who  wish  to  know  Raphael 
well,  come  to  Florence."  There  would  be  another 
advantage  in  this,  if  I  am  not  mistaken :  it  is,  that 
whilst  learning  to  know  Raphael,  the  visitor,  artist, 
or  student,  would  learn  to  know  himself.  It  would 
be  an  infallible  touchstone.  Any  man  who  remains  a 
quarter  of  an  hour  before  this  picture,  and  is  not 
moved  to  tears,  who  does  not  feel  kindled  in  his  breast 
the  noble  and  holy  sentiment  called  admiration,  is  not 
born  for  the  arts,  and  will  never  understand  them. 

Amongst  the  works  of  Raphael  we  must  not  omit 
to  mention  what  is,  and  always  will  be,  the  pearl  of 
the  museum  at  Bologna,  the  St.  Cecilia,  surrounded 
by  the  apostle  St.  Paul,  the  ev  irgelist  St.  John,  St. 


EOMAN   SCHOOL.  159 

Augustine,  and  Mary  Magdalene.  He  has  represented 
her  in  an  ecstasy,  listening  to  celestial  music,  and  let- 
ting fall  from  her  hands  a  little  portable  organ,  on 
which  she  had  begun  the  concert,  finished  by  the  an- 
gels. The  /St.  Cecilia  was  ordered  of  Raphael,  in 
1515,  by  a  lady  of  Bologna  named  Elena  dall'Olio 
Duglioli,  of  the  house  of  Bentivoglio,  who  was  subse- 
quently canonized.  Thus  the  St.  Cecilia  came  to  Bo- 
logna, where  it  has  since  remained.  It  is  too  well 
known  by  all  sorts  of  copies,  commencing  with  those 
of  Oarracci  and  Guido,  for  a  description  to  be  neces- 
sary ;  it  has,  besides,  no  need  of  praise.  I  shall  only 
make  one  observation,  which  may  be  useful  to  travel- 
lers in  Italy.  When  any  one  enters  for  the  first  time 
into  the  Pinacotheca,  and  is  quite  dazzled  by  the  bril- 
liant colors  and  wonderful  eifects  of  light  and  shade 
familiar  to  the  Bolognese;  Raphael's  picture,  with  its 
somewhat  sombre  and  brick-like  color,  does  not  at 
first  cause  all  the  admiration  which  it  ought  to  inspire. 
It  is  on  our  return  from  seeing  the  galleries  of  Flor- 
ence and  the  Stanze  of  the  Vatican,  when  we  have 
learned  to  know  nearly  all  the  works  of  the  "Divine 
Youth,"  and  are  thoroughly  penetrated  with  the  sub- 
lime beauties  of  his  manner,  it  is  then  that  we  render 
him  full  justice,  and  recognize  his  immense  superiority, 
even  when  surrounded  by  the  finest  works  of  Guido, 
Guercino,  and  Domenichino. 

It  is  however  at  Home,  rather  even  than  at  Flor- 
ence or  Bologna,  that  Raphael  is  to  be  seen  to  the 
greatest  advantage.  Let  us  enter  the  Vatican. 


160  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

Having  become  an  architect  when  about  thirty 
years  of  age,  and  at  the  same  time  superintendent  of 
the  excavations  and  antiquities,  Raphael  divided  the 
seven  last  years  of  his  life  between  the  two  arts,  which 
he  cultivated  simultaneously.  This  is  what  Cardinal 
Bembo  wished  to  express  in  the  inscription  on  his 
tomb  under  the  chapel  of  the  Yirgin  at  the  Pantheon : 
Julii  II.  et  Leonis  X.,  picturoe  et  architectures  operi- 
lus,  gloriam  auxit.  This  double  character  appears  in 
the  court  known  by  the  name  of  St.  Daraasus  in  the 
Vatican,  where,  as  an  architect,  he  raised  a  kind  of 
facade,  having  three  stories  or  galleries,  which  he  dec- 
orated as  a  painter  with  fresco  ornaments.  The  then 
recent  discovery  of  the  baths  of  Titus  and  Livia  had 
brought  into  fashion  that  species  of  arabesques,  called 
grotteschi,  because  they  were  in  imitation  of  the  pic- 
tures found  in  the  excavations  (grotte),&&&  Giovanni 
da  Udine,  who  before  joining  Raphael  had  been 
a  pupil  of  Giorgione,  had  made  this  work  easy  by 
the  discovery  of  an  artificial  stucco  composed  of 
pounded  marble  mixed  with  lime  and  white  turpen- 
tine. Raphael  himself  adopted  this  sort  of  decoration. 
But,  as  mythological  ornaments  were  scarcely  possible 
in  the  palace  of  the  popes,  he  invented  Christian  ara- 
besques. In  painting  the  thickness  of  the  pillars,  the 
space  between  the  windows,  and  on  the  wall,  he  found 
means  to  place  in  each  of  the  recesses  of  his  galleries 
four  pictures  about  six  feet  long  by  four  wide,  and  the 
figures  in  which,  about  two  feet  in  height,  look  smaller' 
from  the  distance  at  which  they  are  placed.  Thus  a 


KOMAN    SCHOOL.  161 

series  of  fifty-two  pictures  represent  the  principal 
events  of  Bible  history  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world  to  the  Last  Supper  of  our  Lord  with  His  apos- 
tles. This  is  what  is  called  the  Loggie,  or  sometimes 
Raphael's  Bible. 

Raphael  did  not  do  all  this  work  with  his  own 
hand.  Like  a  Roman  patrician  surrounded  by  his 
clients,  lie  always  left  his  studio  at  the  head  of  a  little 
army  of  painters,  who  called  him  master.  He  had 
sufficient  tact  to  induce  them  to  live  in  harmony  to- 
gether, and  to  work  contentedly  under  his  direction. 
These  painters  were  Giulio  Romano,  il  Fattore,  Gio- 
vanni da  Udine,  Pierino  del  Vaga,  Pellegrino  da  Mo- 
dena,  Polidoro  da  Caravaggio,  and  a  crowd  of  others. 
In  the  Loggie  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  choice  of  the 
subjects  belonged  to  him,  as  well  as  the  supervision 
and  correction  of  the  whole.  Sometimes  also  he  de- 
signed the  pictures  which  his  pupils  painted.  But 
there  are  only  two  or  three  which  can  be  s  iid  to  be 
entirely  his  in  composition,  drawing,  and  coloring; 
the  Almighty  Dividing  the  Light  from  t/<e  Darkness  ; 
the  Creation  of  the  Firmament,  and,  perhaps,  also, 
the  Creation  of  Man  and  Woman.  These  are  the 
best  and  most  celebrated  of  the  series.  The  figure  of 
the  Almighty,  clothed  in  a  violet  rota,  as  magnificent 
as  any  human  representation  can  l>e,  has  as  much 
grandeur,  notwithstanding  the  small  proportions  of 
the  picture,  as  the  gigantic  figures  of  Michael  An- 
gelo.  That  old,  but  at  the  same  time  ever-young  fig- 
ure, bringing  order  out  of  chaos,  placing  the  sun  in 
11 


162  WONDERS   OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

the  sky  with  one  hand,  whilst  the  other  holds  the 
moon,  seems  to  till  the  world.  It  may  be  that  having 
begun  the  series,  Raphael  finished  it  also,  and  that 
the  last  picture,  the  Last  Supper,  was  also  by  him. 
The  best  of  the  other  pictures  are  considered  to  be, 
the  Three  Angels  before  Abraham,  Lot  and  his  daugh- 
ters flying  from  Sodom,  the  Meeting  of  Jacob  and  Ra- 
chel, by  Pellegrino  da  Modena,  who,  in  beauty  and 
expression  recalls  the  style  of  his  master ;  the  History 
of  Joseph,  in  four  pictures,  the  Building  of  the  Ark, 
the  Deluge,  the  Sacrifice  of  Abraham,  and  Moses  saved 
from  the  Water,  by  Giulio  Romano.  This  last  fresco 
is  very  remarkable  for  the  landscape,  where  we  at  last 
find  distance  expressed  in  a  natural  and  true  back- 
ground, a  thing  which  was  unknown  in  Italy  until 
Raphael.  As  for  the  Judgment  of  Solomon,  which  is 
considered  equal  to  those  I  have  just  mentioned,  it 
seems  to  me  far  inferior  to  the  masterpiece  of  Poussin, 
which  however  borrowed  nothing  from  it,  even  in  the 
violent  action  of  the  mothers.  Poussin  is  also  supe- 
rior to  Giulio  Romano  in  the  sombre  subject  of  the 
Deluge. 

Leaving  the  Loggie,  which  are  painted  under  the 
external  galleries,  and  have  received  many  injuries, 
both  from  time  and  the  soldiers  of  Charles  V.,  and 
also  from  unskilful  restorers,  we  enter  the  palace,  and 
there  find  the  galleries  known  as  the  Stanze  of  the 
Yatican.  Here  there  are  no  longer  ornaments,  ara- 
besques, and  small  figures,  but  vast  works,  the  greater 
number  entirely  from  the  hand  of  the  master.  These 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  163 

four  halls  have  received  a  very  commonplace  name, 
the  Stanze,  or  rooms  /  in  them  even  the  austere  and 
grave  Michael  Angelo  himself  could  find  no  fault, 
as  they  only  contain  frescoes  and  no  easel-pictures. 
These  halls  are  the  triumph  of  art,  which  never  ap- 
pears more  varied,  more  complete,  or  more  powerful ; 
the  triumph  of  the  artist,  also,  was  never  greater  or 
more  victorious.  It  is  in  the  Stanze  that  we  must 
judge  of  the  painting  of  Raphael. 

Let  us  first  say  a  few  words  on  the  history  of  this 
immense  work.  The  Stanze  had  been  already  paint- 
ed in  part  by  Bramantino,  Pietro  del  Borgo,  Pietro 
della  Francesca,  Lnca  Signorelli  and  Perugino,  when 
Julius  II.,  at  the  suggestion  of  Bramante,  sent  to 
Florence  for  the  young  Eaphael,  then  twenty-five 
years  old  (1508),  and  entrusted  to  him  one  of  the 
great  panels  in  the  large  hall.  Raphael  painted  on 
it  the  Dispute  on  the  Holy  Sacrament,  and  the  pope, 
filled  with  admiration  at  the  work  of  the  painter, 
who  was  henceforth  to  be  called  the  "  divine  youth," 
ordered  all  the  other  frescoes — whether  begun  or  fin- 
ished—to be  effaced,  in  order  that  Raphael  might 
complete  the  whole  work.  Raphael  only  succeeded 
in  saving  one  from  destruction,  that  in  the  entrance 
hall  by  his  master  Perugino.  He  worked  in  the 
Stanze  during  the  remainder  of  his  life ;  but  being 
constantly  interrupted  in  his  work,  by  orders  from 
popes  or  kings,  he  had  not  quite  finished  it  at  the 
time  of  his  death. 

Once  at  Rome,  and  commissioned  to  paint  the 


164  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

Stanze,  Raphael  grew  with  his  work.  He  threw  off 
all  that  had  been  narrow  and  local,  whether  derived 
from  Perugia  or  Florence,  whether  belonging  to 
Perugino,  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  or  Fra  Bartolommeo  ; 
he  became  Catholic,  universal,  and  in  his  universality 
he  represented  wonderfully  the  school  of  Home,  the 
centre  of  Italian  unity  and  of  the  Christian  world. 
"  He  reunited  the  chain  which  bound  together  divers 
ages,  creeds,  and  nations  ;  in  his  vast  conception  he 
joined  all  pagan  and  all  Christian  antiquity.  He 
brought  into  view,  without  incongruity  and  without 
offending  the  eye,  the  mind,  or  the  taste,  the  doctors 
of  the  church  and  the  philosophers  of  paganism." 
(The  annotators  of  Yasari.)  "  In  the  frescoes  of  the 
Vatican,"  says  M.  P.-A.  Gruyer,  "  Raphael  has  re- 
capitulated the  conquests  of  the  Renaissance,  at  the 
same  time  that  he  has  exalted  the  triumph  of  the 
church,  and  the  independence  of  Italy.  He  has 
touched  with  an  equally  firm  hand,  the  heights  of 
religion  and  of  science,  of  history  and  of  poetry. 
After  having  risen  to  the  most  sublime  abstractions, 
he  shows  human  affairs  under  a  light  which  magni- 
fies, without  disfiguring  them,  and  he  has  brought 
into  this  service  the  most  generous  ideas,  the  most 
fertile  genius,  and  the  most  perfect  talent  that  the 
world  has  ever  known."  In  a  word,  according  to  the 
expression  of  a  poet,  he  made  Italy  the  "  Greece  of 
the  Gospel." 

The  first  of  the  Stanze  is  called  the  Stanza  dett 
Incendio  del  Borgo  Vecchio,  because  the  subject  of 


KOMAN    SCHOOL.  165 

the  large  fresco  is  the  burning  of  the  suburb  called 
the  Borgo,  during  the  pontificate  of  St.  Leo  in  847. 
This  suburb  is  that  situated  beyond  the  Tiber  (Trans- 
Tevere),  which  contains  St.  Peter's  and  the  Vatican. 
In  this  vast  work  Raphael  seems  to  have  described, 
not  so  much  the  scene  itself, —  of  which  probably  few 
traditions  remain, — as  the  burning  of  Troy  as  Virgil 
has  described  it.  The  fine  group  in  which  we  can 
recognize  ^neas  carrying  his  father  Anchises  and 
followed  by  his  wife,  is  by  Giulio  Romano.  In  this 
picture,  the  best  figures  in  which  seem  to  me  those  of 
the  women  bringing  water,  there  are  more  nude 
figures  than  in  any  other  work  of  Raphael,  who  ap- 
pears to  have  avoided  them  with  as  much  care  as 
Michael  Angelo  took  to  introduce  them  everywhere. 
Opposite  the  Incendio  del  Borgo,  is  the  Coronation 
of  Charlemagne  by  Leo  ///.,  a  noble  composition,  but 
it  is  said  that  Raphael  only  drew  the  cartoon  for  this, 
and  that  it  was  colored  by  another  hand  after  his 
death. 

The  second  hall  is  named  the  Stanza  della  Segna- 
tura.  It  is  here  that  Raphael  shows,  by  his  most 
perfect  works,  the  great  height  to  which  he  had  at- 
tained. On  one  side  is  The  Dispute  on  the  Holy 
Sacrament,  also  called  Theology  /  on  the  other  the 
School  of  Athens,  which  might  be  called  Philosophy. 
These  are  the  most  sublime  conceptions  of  the  artist 
in  historical  painting.  The  subject  of  the  former  is 
not  indicated  by  the  title ;  it  is  a  poetical  image  of 
the  council  of  Placentia,  which  terminated,  by  an  au- 


166  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ABT. 

thoritative  decree,  the  controversies  which  had  arisen 
about  the  Eucharist.  This  fresco  of  Raphael's,  "  the 
largest  Christian  epic  that  painting  has  ever  traced," 
is  in  two  parts,  heaven  and  earth,  united  by  the 
eucharistic  mystery :  above,  the  Blessed  Trinity  is 
represented,  encircled  by  angels  and  having  on  either 
side  a  long  range  of  glorified  saints ;  on  the  earth, 
around  the  Host  in  a  Monstrance  surrounded  by 
golden  rays,  there  is  a  council  assembled.  In  it  we 
see  doctors,  old  and  young  men,  popes,  bishops, 
priests,  monks,  and  laymen.  Dante,  whom  his  con- 
temporaries named  eximio  teologo,  is  sitting  among 
these  doctors  of  the  church,  not  far  from  Jerome, 
Augustine,  Ambrose,  and  Gregory,  with  Thomas 
Aquinas,  Bonaventura,  Duns  Scotus,  JSTicolo  di  Lira, 
and  even  Savonarola,  although  burnt  by  order  of  a 
pope.  Raphael  painted  himself  with  Perugino  under 
the  forms  of  mitred  prelates.  "  Four  children  of  in- 
imitable grace,"  says  Yasari,  "  are  holding  open  the 
four  Gospels,  which  four  doctors  of  the  church,  illu- 
minated by  the  Holy  Spirit,  resolve  and  explain,  by 
the  aid  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  The  saints  are  seated 
in  a  circle  in  the  air,  and  not  only  does  the  beauty  of 
the  coloring  give  them  all  the  appearance  of  life,  but 
the  foreshortenings  and  the  gradual  receding  of  the 
figures  are  so  judiciously  managed,  that  they  could 
not  appear  otherwise  if  they  were  in  relief;  the  dra- 
peries and  vestments  are  richly  varied,  and  the  folds 
are  of  infinite  grace ;  the  expression  of  the  counte- 
nances moreover  is  celestial  rather  than  merely  human. 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  167 

This  is  more  particularly  to  be  remarked  in  that  of 
the  Saviour,  which  exhibits  all  the  mildness  and 
clemency  of  the  divine  nature  that  could  possibly  be 
presented  to  the  human  eye  by  a  mere  painting. 
Raphael  has  given  to  the  holy  Patriarchs  the  reverence 
of  age,  to  the  Apostles  the  earnest  simplicity  which 
is  proper  to  their  character,  and  the  faces  of  his  mar- 
tyrs are  radiant  with  the  faith  that  is  in  them.  But 
still  more  richly  varied  are  the  resources  of  art  and 
genius  which  this  master  has  displayed  in  the  holy 
doctors  who  are  engaged  in  disputation.  Their 
features  show  an  eager  curiosity,  but  also  an  earnest 
desire  to  discover  the  truth  ;  this  is  made  further 
manifest  by  the  action  of  the  hands,  and  by  various 
movements  of  the  person — all  with  most  appropriate, 
but  beautiful  expression."  After  contemplating  this 
wonderful  work  by  one  still  little  more  than  a  strip- 
ling of  twenty-five,  as  his  portrait,  in  addition  to  his- 
torical evidence,  shows,  we  are  forced  to  pardon  Julius 
II.  for  his  apparently  unjustifiable  action  ;  no  other, 
though  of  riper  age  or  of  greater  experience,  could 
have  sustained  a  comparison  with  Raphael  ;  to  him 
alone,  without  a  compeer,  belongs  this  sanctuary  of 
art. 

No  one  has  ever  succeeded  in  making  a  subject  so 
clearly  understood  at  the  first  glance,  or  in  conveying 
BO  fully  the  sense  of  unity  in  a  vast  whole,  of  the  pic- 
turesque in  symmetry  and  in  all  the  details,  in  giving 
grace,  elegance,  elevation  of  style,  and  incomparable 
beauty  to  every  part. 


168  WONDKRS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

To  find  another  work  equal,  if  not  superior  to  this, 
but  which  cannot  be  compared  with  it  on  account  of 
the  difference  in  style,  the  spectator  must  turn  round, 
and  reinforced  with  new  courage  in  a  new  admiration, 
contemplate  leisurely  and  lovingly  the  other  immense 
picture  of  the  School  of  Athens.  This  is  like  a  speak- 
ing history  of  Greek  philosophy,  between  the  time  of 
Pythagoras  and  Epicurus.  Here  also  the  general  ef- 
fect is  imposing,  the  groups  excellent,  the  details 
really  wonderful,  and  throughout  the  picture  there  is 
an  inexpressible  strength,  elevation,  and  firmness, 
which  prove  the  maturity  of  his  genius.  "  For  the 
first  time,"  says  M.  Ch.  Blanc,  "Raphael  set  foot  on 
the  soil  of  Greece ;  he  entered  that  antiquity  which  is 
generally  called  profane,  but  which  is  sacred  ground 
1'or  the  artist.  Strange  to  say,  Raphael  had  scarcely 
opened  the  history  of  the  Greeks,  when  he  understood 
it  better  than  any  one.  He  became  imbued  with  their 
spirit.  He  now,  by  the  force  of  his  imagination,  trans- 
ports us  to  the  midst  of  Athens,  into  the  palace  of 
Academus." 

Fifty-two  figures  are  assembled  in  this  immense 
scene,  the  framework  or  back-ground  being  an  early 
design  by  Bramante  for  St.  Peter's.  One  common 
thought  unites  this  large  assembly — the  worship  of 
philosophy,  of  wisdom,  and  of  science  (sapientid). 
These  are  represented  by  the  two  great  philosophical 
writers  of  Greece,  Plato  and  Aristotle,  that  is  to  say, 
idealistic  intuition  and  experimental  knowledge. 
These  seem  to  preside  over  the  assembly.  Near  them 


BOM  AN    SCHOOL.  169 

is  the  group  of  poetry,  in  which  Homer  is  seen  be- 
tween Yirgil  and  Dante,  personifying  the  three  great 
epics  of  Greece,  Rome,  and  Christian  Italy.  On  one 
side  is  the  group  of  the  Sciences,  on  the  other  that  of 
the  Arts.  Raphael  could  not  know  the  features,  since 
become  historic,  of  several  great  men,  such  as  Homer 
for  example,  for  the  ancient  statues  and  busts  had  not 
then  been  discovered ;  he  was  obliged  to  represent 
them  after  the  ideal  he  had  formed,  as  if  they  had 
been  allegorical  figures,  and  certainly  we  cannot  re- 
gret his  ignorance.  He  has  revived  antiquity  by  a 
sort  of  magic,  far  superior  to  acquired  knowledge,  or 
to  the  simple  copy  of  known  models.  What  book 
could  give  a  more  correct  and  rapid  idea  of  the  char- 
acters of  the  ancient  philosophers  than  this  fresco, 
"  where  Raphael  rises  so  easily  to  the  sublime  in  his- 
torical painting,  and  to  the  highest  point  of  his  own 
genius?"  (Ch.  Blanc.)  Some  of  these  figures,  either 
named  or  without  a  name,  are  portraits  of  men  of 
that  time:  thus  Bramante  is  represented  as  Archi- 
medes; Frederick  II.,  duke  of  Mantua,  is  that  hand- 
some young  man,  bending  with  one  knee  on  the 
ground  to  follow  a  geometrical  demonstration ;  on  the 
left  hand,  behind  Zoroaster,  who  may  be  recognized 
by  his  starry  crown,  we  find,  as  in  the  Theology,  Pe- 
rugino,  and  Raphael  himself,  now  rather  older  than 
before,  and  more  manly.  In  this  picture  he  shows  in 
a  supreme  degree  what  is  so  necessary,  that  great  rule 
of  the  beautiful  in  art,  variety  in  unity.  He  also 
displays  a  comprehensiveness  of  talent  and  style  which 


170  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

are  perfectly  well  balanced.  And  this  exact  propor- 
tion between  the  different  qualities,  usually  a  distinct- 
ive characteristic  of  honorable  mediocrity,  becomes  in 
him  the  signs  of  the  greatest  genius  that  ever  existed, 
because  of  the  height  to  which  he  carried  each  sepa- 
rate quality.  "  Eaphael,"  add  the  annotators  of  Ya- 
sari,  "  possessed  the  power  of  depicting  every  beauti- 
ful thing,  and  he  united  them  in  still  more  beautiful 
harmony.  This  harmony  in  beauty,  force,  and  con- 
ception, was  the  work  of  Raphael ;  it  was  his  talent, 
his  genius." 

This  admirable  fresco  of  the  School  of  Athens,  one 
of  the  greatest  works  that  the  art  of  painting  has 
ever  produced,  is  unfortunately  threatened  with  im- 
pending destruction.  Although  a  more  recent  work, 
it  is  more  injured  than  the  Dispute  on  the  Holy 
Sacrament.  We  cannot  but  reflect  with  bitterness 
that  painting,  the  first  of  the  three  arts  of  design,  is 
unhappily  executed  in  materials  so  much  less  lasting 
than  stone,  marble,  or  bronze.  Even  in  painting 
there  are  some  kinds  more  perishable  than  others,  and 
they  are  exactly  those  which  were  considered  as  dura- 
ble as  the  buildings  of  which  they  formed  a  part ; 
monumental  painting  first  perishes  under  the  hand  of 
time.  The  frescoes,  those  great  and  magnificent 
pages  of  Italian  art,  are  rapidly  going  to  destruction. 
Scarcely  anything  is  now  visible  of  those  in  the  Cam- 
po  Santo,  at  Pisa ;  the  wonderful  Last  Supper,  by 
Leonardo  da  Vinci,  is  almost  effaced;  and  no^y  the 
Last  Judgment,  and  the  frescoes  in  the  Loggie  and 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  171 

Stanze  are  threatened  with  the  same  fate.  They  will 
soon  either  fall  into  dust,  or.  becoming  more  and 
more  effaced  each  year,  they  will  gradually  fade  in 
indistinguishable  shade,  as  day  loses  itself  in  night. 

The  third  fresco  in  this  hall  is  the  Parnassus, 
another  large  profane,  T  was  about  to  say  pagan,  com- 
position, made  in  imitation  of  the  ancient  style  and 
taste,  that  is  to  say,  with  great  wisdom,  but  also  with 
coldness.  Groups  of  poets  of  different  periods  are 
mixed  with  groups  of  the  Muses,  in  the  midst  of  whom 
"stat  divus  Apollo."  Among  these  poets  we  find 
Homer — still  between  Yirgil  and  Dante — Pindar, 
Sappho,  Horace,  Ovid,  Boccacio,  Petrarch  and  his 
Laura,  dressed  as  Corinna,  then  Sannazar,  the  now 
almost  forgotten  author  of  the  great  Latin  poem, 
"De  Partu  Yirginio."  Tradition  relates  that  after 
having  placed  a  lyre  in  the  hands  of  Apollo,  Raphael 
substituted  a  violin  for  the  ancient  instrument.  To 
explain  this  voluntary  anachronism,  it  is  said  that  it 
was  either  done  to  flatter  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  who, 
having  become  old,  had  taken  a  violent  passion  for 
the  violin,  which  he  played  well ;  or  in  order  to  flat- 
ter Julius  II.,  by  deifying  a  certain  suonatore  di  vio- 
lino,  his  favorite  musician.  Raphael  may  have 
merely  wished  to  make  Apollo  in  harmony  with  the 
Christian  archangels  and  cherubim,  who  in  all  the 
Italian  paintings  of  the  Renaissance,  from  Cimabue  to 
Giotto,  used,  instead  of  lyres  and  harps,  violins  and 
viols  fior  their  celestial  concerts. 

Opposite  the  Parnassus,  and  above  the  high  win- 


172  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

dow,  is  the  picture  of  Jurisprudence,  winch  represents 
allegorically  the  three  companion  virtues  of  Justice, 
nobly  grouped  in  a  grand  and  beautiful  composition  • 
and  in  order  that  nothing  may  be  wanting  to  this  hall, 
the  scene  of  his  first  efforts  at  Rome,  and  of  which  he 
wished  to  be  the  sole  decorator,  he  has  even  painted 
the  compartments  of  the  ceiling.  The  four  figures — 
Theology,  Philosophy,  Poetry,  and  Jurisprudence — 
recalling  all  the  nobility  of  the  ancient  style,  will 
remain  inimitable  models  of  serious  allegory. 

The  third  room  is  named  the "  Stanza  di  Elio- 
doro,"  the  principal  picture  in  which  is  the  history  of 
Heliodorus.  We  learn  from  the  book  of  Maccabees 
that  this  prefect  or  general  of  Seleucus  Philopator, 
king  of  Syria,  commissioned  by  his  master  to  sack  the 
temple  of  Jerusalem,  was  stopped  at  the  threshold  by 
angels  who  beat  him  with  rods.  Raphael,  in  the  choice 
of  this  subject,  made  an  allusion  to  his  protector,  the 
warlike  Julius,  who  had  said  that  he  was  obliged  to 
throw  the  keys  of  St.  Peter  into  the  Tiber,  and  take  the 
sword  of  St.  Paul  to  drive  out  the  barbarians  ;  and  in 
fact,  adding  the  sword  of  the  layman  to  the  thunders 
of  the  church,  and  himself  fighting  in  armor,  he  had 
succeeded  in  driving  by  turn  the  Venetians  and  the 
French  from  the  patrimony  of  St.  Peter.  The  allu- 
sion here  is  evident,  even  in  the  temple  of  Jerusalem  ; 
it  is  not  the  high  priest  of  the  Hebrews  who  presides 
at  the  punishment  of  the  sacrilegious  soldier,  but  the 
pope  of  the  Christians,  crowned  with  his  tiara  and 
carried  on  the  sella  gestatoria.  The  group  containing 
the  pope  and  his  cortege,  and  that  of  the  prostrate 


KOMAN    SCHOOL.  173 

Heliodorus,  whose  armor  could  not  protect  him 
against  a  simple  sign  made  by  the  divine  messenger, 
are  the  finest  parts  of  this  magnificent  composition, 
which,  in  movement  and  vivacity,  is  equalled  by  no 
other  of  Raphael's  works.  Raphael,  however,  who 
drew  the  whole  of  it,  only  painted  the  principal 
group.  That  which  contains  several  women  was 
done  by  a  pupil  of  Correggio,  Pietro  di  Cremona,  and 
the  remainder  are  by  Giulio  Romano. 

Julius  II.  no  doubt  intended  to  fill  the  whole  of 
this  stanza.  It  is  thought  that  Raphael  painted  the 
Deliverance  of  St.  Peter  on  this  panel,  because  Giu- 
liano  della  Rovere,  before  becoming  pope,  was  the 
Cardinal  of  San  Pietro  in  vincoli,  an  hereditary  dignity 
in  his  family.  Others,  however,  believe  that  this 
fresco  was  painted  by  Raphael  on  the  accession  of 
*  Leo  X.,  who,  when  Cardinal  Giovanni  de  Medici,  had 
been  made  prisoner  at  Ravenna,  and  had  escaped 
through  a  chance  little  short  of  miraculous.  This 
would  be  to  find  a  flattering  resemblance  in  the  new 
pope  to  the  prince  of  the  Apostles. 

This  fresco  is  divided  into  three  compartments. 
In  that  on  the  right,  are  the  soldiers  who  guard  the 
entrance  to  the  prison  ;  in  the  centre  compartment, 
St.  Peter  awakened  by  the  angel ;  and  in  that  on  the 
left,  the  angel  leading  the  apostle  down  a  winding 
staircase.  The  principal  effect  of  the  picture  arises 
from  the  contrast  between  the  source  of  light  in  these 
divisions.  The  soldiers,  in  deep  shadow,  sleep  under 
the  dim  light  of  a  lamp,  whilst  the  angel,  luminous 


174  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

as  a  star,  diffuses  a  brilliant  light  in  the  prison.  In 
producing  such  an  effect,  which  any  one  would  have 
thought  conceived  by  the  Flemish  Gherardo  delle 
Notti  (Gherard  Honthorst),  Raphael  has  proved  that 
he  had  a  complete  mastery  over  all  the  difficulties  of 
his  art,  even  those  of  color.  Critics,  who  are  so  in- 
genious as  to  discover  in  the  work  of  the  painter 
thoughts  which  he  had  not  conceived — which  is  often 
done  by  literary  commentators — have  believed  that 
they  recognized  in  the  face  of  the  Apostle  a  mixture 
of  the  features  of  the  old  Julius  and  the  young  Raph- 
ael. They  say  that  he  must  have  done  as  Apelles 
did,  who,  when  painting  a  god  for  the  temple  of 
Ephesus,  found  means  to  combine  in  the  masculine 
face  of  Jupiter,  the  effeminate  features  of  Alexander. 
Visitors  may  be  amused  in  discovering  how  far  this 
supposition  is  consistent  with  truth. 

Julius  II.  is  also  represented,  in  spite  of  the 
anachronism,  as  presiding  in  pontifical  costume  at 
the  Miracle  of  JSolsena,  one  of  the  frescoes  in  the 
same  room.  This  name  of  "  Miracle,"  or  "  Mass  of 
Bolsena,"  refers,  I  believe,  to  the  tradition  recording 
the  supernatural  conversion  of  a  priest,  who  having 
doubted  the  real  presence  of  our  Lord  in  the  Euchar- 
ist, suddenly  saw,  at  the  moment  of  consecration, 
drops  of  blood  flow  from  the  wafer.*  In  this  very 
animated  and  effective  fresco,  which  is  arranged  with 
so  much  skill  in  a  space  above  a  window,  apparent- 

*  The  linen  cloth,  said  to  bear  the  stains  of  this  miracle,  constitutes 
the  greatest  treasure  of  the  beautiful  cathedral  of  Orvieto. 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  175 

ly  too  limited  to  be  almost  useless,  the  coloring  is  so 
strong  and  bright  that  it  might  be  attributed  to  the 
Venetians. 

St.  Leo  stopping  Attila  at  the  gates  of  Rome,  is  a 
subject  which  would  certainly  suit  better  the  history 
of  Julius  II.  than  that  of  Leo  X.,  who  was  a  learned 
but  timid  pope,  and  loved  peace  as  much  as  his 
terrible  predecessor  had  loved  war,  and  who  placed 
the  now  well-known  papal  umbrella  in  the  hands  of 
his  peaceful  halberdiers.  However,  it  was  certainly 
in  honor  of  Leo  that  Raphael  painted  this  fresco, 
which  was  somewhat  later  in  date  than  the  three 
others  in  the  same  hall.  Leo  X.  is  represented  as  St. 
Leo,  and  behind  him  Raphael  has  placed  himself 
bearing  a  cross,  again  accompanied  by  his  old  master 
Perugino.  The  greatest  merit  of  this  picture,  or,  at 
all  events,  that  which  first  attracts  attention,  is  the 
striking  contrast  between  the  Christian  group  of  the 
pope  in  the  midst  of  his  attendants,  displaying  the 
calm  majesty  of  faith  and  resignation,  and  the  dis- 
orderly army  of  the  Huns,  in  which  are  seen  the  fury 
and  terror  of  superstitious  barbarians. 

The  fourth  room,  "  Stanza  di  Constantino,"  had 
been  merely  sketched  by  Raphael  when  death  over- 
took him,  in  1520.  He  had  only  finished  the  two 
allegorical  figures  of  Justice  and  Mercy,  both  admir- 
able from  their  beauty,  their  expression,  and  from  the 
coloring,  which  is  wonderfully  bright.  But  he  had 
attempted  an  important  innovation,  that  of  oil-paint- 
ing on  the  wall.  In  fact,  his  sketch  of  the  victory  of 


176  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

Constantine  over  Maxentius  at  the  Ponte  Molle,  had 
been  covered  by  bis  order  witb  a  coating  of  oil,  on 
which  he  intended  to  paint  this  large  composition. 
Giulio  Romano,  commisioned  by  the  pope  to  finish 
it,  did  not  dare  to  continue  the  experiment,  and  re- 
turned to  fresco.  This  battle,  in  which  the  drawing 
of  the  master  has  been  religiously  respected  by  the 
disciple,  is,  I  believe,  the  largest  historical  painting 
known.  In  the  arrangement,  the  genius  of  Raphael 
appears  powerful  enough  to  grasp  all  the  details  of 
such  a  combat,  and  self-contained  enough  to  reduce 
these  confused  details  to  order.  As  for  the  execution, 
which  does  great  honor  to  Giulio  Romano,  it  might 
have  been  reproached  with  being  too  crude,  hard,  and 
dark ;  but  Poussin  remarked  that  in  such  a  subject 
these  — perhaps  voluntary  faults — might  be  taken  as 
excellences. 

Raphael  had  also  sketched  the  Baptism  of  Con* 
stantine,  in  the  composition  of  which  his  powerful 
hand  may  be  easily  recognized.  The  painting  itself, 
feebly  executed,  is  by  his  pupil  Gian  Francesco  Penni, 
called  il  Fattore,  or  il  Fattorino,  because  he  was 
charged  with  the  household  affairs,  with  which  Ra- 
phael did  not  much  concern  himself.  Raphael  left  him 
half  of  his  wealth.  As  for  the  Appearance  of  the 
Cross — In  hoc  signo  mnces — which  makes  a  pendant 
to  the  Baptism  of  Constantine,  it  is  believed  that  the 
whole  work,  sketch  and  painting,  belongs  to  Giulio 
Romano,  the  other  heir  of  Raphael.  It  is  one  of  the 
works  in  which  he  has  shown  the  greatest  boldness 


ROMAJST    SCHOOL. 


177 


and  vigor.  In  the  background  of  this  picture  he 
has  introduced  some  of  the  buildings  of  the  Rome  of 
his  time,  an  authorised  anachronism.  But  it  has  not 
been  explained  through  what  artist's  fancy  he  has 
placed  in  an  angle  that  hideous  dwarf  endeavoring  to 
place  a  magnificent  helmet  on  his  deformed  head — 
Thersites  putting  on  the  armor  of  Achilles.  And 
yet  this  figure  is  celebrated  even  through  its  ugliness. 
It  is,  perhaps,  the  first  example  of  the  grotesque  being 
mixed  with  the  beautiful,  an  easy  and  dangerous 
expedient  to  produce  an  effect  by  contrast,  and  one 
which  has  been  greatly  abused. 

It  would  be  unjust  not  to  mention  the  grisailles 
of  the  basement  in  this  room  and  the  preceding  one, 
which  are  well  executed  by  that  Polidoro  da  Cara- 
vaggio,  who,  from  being  at  first  a  mason's  laborer, 
made  himself  a  painter,  by  studying  the  frescoes  of 
Giovanni  da  Udine,  and  was  worthy  to  receive  lessons 
from  Raphael.  His  works  complete  the  decoration 
cf  these  famous  carnere.  I  hope  to  be  pardoned  for 
having  dwelt  longer  here  than  on  any  other  collection 
of  paintings,  because  of  their  importance  and  the 
name  of  their  author.  We  may  say  of  them  what 
Montesquieu  profoundly,  if  boldly,  has  said  of  the 
works  of  antiquity :  "  To  believe  that  they  may  be 
surpassed  will  always  be  only  to  prove  our  ignorance 
of  them." 

Besides  his  frescoes,  unhappily  immortal  rather  by 
their  merit  than  by  the  durability  of  their  materials, 
Raphael  has  left  in  the  palace  of  the  popes  three 
12 


178  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ABT. 

pictures  which  have  been  less  injured  by  time.  They 
are  now  in  the  museum  of  the  Yatican. 

The  first  of  the  three,  in  order,  is  the  wonderful 
Madonna  di  Foligno  (also  called  the  Vierge  au  Don- 
ataire).  We  have  already  mentioned  it  as  among  the 
most  celebrated  of  the  enthroned  Madonnas  surround- 
ed by  saints.  This  picture  was  ordered  of  Raphael 
by  Sigismondo  Conti,  an  officer  of  the  household  of 
Julius  II.  The  painter  has  introduced  him  into  the 
picture  kneeling  in  the  group  on  the  left,  opposite 
St.  John  the  Baptist.  It  is  a  fine  portrait  of  an  old 
man,  the  striking  reality  of  whose  figure  forms  a 
happy  contrast  with  the  celestial  character  given  to 
the  Yirgin  and  her  son.  From  this  portrait  arose  the 
name  of  Vierge  au  Donataire. 

This  masterpiece,  the  only  equal  of  which  in  its 
particular  kind  is  the  Madonna  del  Pesoe  at  Madrid, 
was  painted  before  the  Coronation  of  the  Virgin,  a 
large  picture  which  Raphael  several  times  began  and 
then  left  for  other  work,  and  which  at  his  death  was 
Btill  little  more  than  a  sketch.  It  was  finished  partly 
by  Giulio  Romano  and  partly  by  il  Fattore,  and  their 
work  is  too  visible  for  it  to  be  attributed  to  their 
master.  The  sketch  only  is  by  Raphael. 

To  see  Raphael  in  all  his  grandeur,  his  genius 
fully  developed  by  labor  and  experience,  we  must 
contemplate  his  last  work,  The  Transfiguration, 
which  was  placed  over  his  head  when  he  lay  in  state, 
and  which  was  carried  in  the  procession  at  his  mag- 
nificent funeral  obsequies  like  a  sacred  relic.  Whilst 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  179 

deploring  the  early  death  of  Raphael  when  thirty- 
seven  years  old  to  a  day,*  profoundly  lamented  not 
only  by  his  scholars,  but  by  a  sorrowing  people,  many 
have  inquired  if  it  were  not  a  fortunate  occurrence 
for  his  fame ;  if  having  already  attained  perfection, 
he  would  not  have  run  the  risk  of  surviving  his  genius. 
I  cannot  admit  such  a  source  of  consolation.  I  be- 
lieve that  however  perfect  and  great  Raphael  might 
be,  he  would  have  improved,  and  that  after  having 
surpassed  all  his  rivals,  he  would  have  surpassed  him- 
self. Michael  Angelo,  who  at  fifteen  years  of  age  had 
sculptured  the  mask  of  a  Faun,  painted  the  Last 
Judgment  at  sixty-seven.  Titian,  who  also  began  to 
paint  when  quite  young,  worked  gloriously  until  the 
close  of  his  life,  prolonged  to  nearly  a  century.  Fous- 
sin  was  seventy-one  when  he  painted  the  Deluge,  the 
last  and  best  of  his  works.  And  Murillo,  to  conclude 
my  examples,  taking  only  the  most  notable,  painted 
his  most  celebrated  pictures  between  the  ages  of  fifty 
and  sixty -four,  the  close  of  his  life.  Had  these  four 
great  men  died  at  the  same  age  as  Raphael,  they 
would  have  been  far  from  taking  the  place  they  now 
occupy  in  the  annals  of  art — that  eminent  rank  to 
which  universal  admiration  has  raised  them.  But 
why  seek  proofs  elsewhere  than  in  the  history  of 
Raphael  himself?  Had  he  once  gone  back?  Was 
he  not  always  advancing,  and  was  not  this  famous 
Transfiguration^  the  greatest  height  his  genius  reach- 

*  He  was  born  on  Good  Friday,  1483,  and  died  on   Good  Friday, 
1520. 


180  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

ed,  the  last  of  his  works  ?  Had  he  died  sooner  we 
should  not  have  known  what  he  could  have  done ; 
had  he  lived  longer,  can  we  not  believe  that  he  might 
have  done  even  greater  ?  In  the  history  of  the  arts 
there  is  another  man  who  resembles  Raphael  in  genius 
as  in  fate ;  Mozart  also  possessed  a  soul  full  of  deep 
feeling,  an  exquisite  taste,  a  sublime,  varied,  and 
fertile  genius,  both  in  its  commencement  and  close. 
A  composer  at  six  years  of  age  and  dead  at  thirty- 
six,  he  crowned  the  list  of  his  works  by  the  "  Re- 
quiem," and  said  when  dying,  "  It  is  too  soon  ;  1  had 
overcome  every  obstacle,  and  was  going  to  write  from 
the  dictation  of  my  own  heart."  It  was  too  soon  also 
for  Raphael,  and  his  unhappy  death  must  ever  leave 
a  feeling  of  regret  in  the  hearts  of  lovers  of  painting. 
"  Oh  most  happy  and  thrice  blessed  spirit,"  says 
Yasari,  "  of  whom  all  are  proud  to  speak,  whose 
actions  are  celebrated  with  praise  by  all  men,  and 
the  least  of  whose  works  left  behind  thee  is  admired 
and  prized  !  When  Raphael  died,  well  might  Paint- 
ing have  departed  also,  for  when  he  closed  his  eyes, 
she  too  was  left  as  it  were  blind." 

The  picture  of  the  Transfiguration,  ordered  by 
Cardinal  Giulio  de  Medici,  was  intended  for  a  small 
town  in  the  south  of  France,  Narbonne,  of  which  he 
was  archbishop.  Rome  however  retained  this  great- 
est work  of  her  painter.  I  am  not  aware  that  any 
adverse  criticism  has  been  passed  on  this  picture, 
except  that  the  action,  being  double,  causes  a  want  of 
unity.  But  we  can  refer  those,  who  venture  on  this 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  181 

criticism  to  Matt.  xvii.  for  the  scene  here  delineated. 
We  there  find  not  only  Christ  between  Moses  and 
Elias,  atfd  his  three  disciples,  Peter,  .James,  and  John, 
dazzled  by  the  brightness  of  the  apparition  and  pros- 
trate through  terror;  but  also  at  the  foot  of  the 
mountain,  the  people  waiting  for  their  Messiah,  to 
bring  to  Him  the  child  possessed  by  the  devil  to  be 
cured.  Yasari  says  of  it,  "  In  this  work  the  master 
has  of  a  truth  produced  figures  and  heads  of  such 
extraordinary  beauty,  so  new,  so  varied,  and  at  all 
points  so  admirable,  that  among  the  many  works 
executed  by  his  hand,  this,  by  common  consent  of  all 
artists,  is  declared  to  be  the  most  worthily  renowned, 
the  most  excellent,  the  most  divine.  But  as  if  that 
sublime  genius  had  gathered  all  the  force  of  his 
powers  into  one  effort,  as  one  who  had  finished  the 
great  work  which  he  had  to  accomplish,  he  touched 
the  pencil  no  more." 

Raphael  had  at  first  imitated  Perugino.  After- 
wards he  studied  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  and  formed  his 
style  on  that  of  the  painter  of  the  Last  Supper  •  then 
from  the  Frate  (Fra  Bartolommeo)  he  learned  per- 
spective as  well  as  some  processes  of  drawing  and 
coloring  ;  then  he  studied  Michael  Angelo  and  anat- 
omy, in  order  to  paint  the  nude,  foreshortening,  and 
the  articulation  of  limbs;  he  afterwards  studied  back- 
grounds, landscapes,  animals,  vestments,  skies  and 
effects  of  sunlight,  shadow,  night,  and  artificial  light, 
and  adding  to  all  these  acquirements  his  own  genius, 
his  feeling  and  passion  for  the  beautiful,  he  attained 
the  highest  summit  of  perfection. 


182  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

"  The  graceful  Raphael  Sanzio  of  TJrbino,"  says 
Yasari,  at  the  commencement  of  his  biography,  "  offers 
one  of  the  most  striking  proofs  of  the  munificence  of 
Heaven,  who  is  sometimes  pleased  to  accumulate  on 
one  head  gifts  and  graces  which  are  more  commonly 
distributed  among  a  number  of  individuals.  Such 
men  are  not  men,  but  mortal  gods."  "  If  Raphael 
is  to  be  compared  with  other  masters,"  add  the  an- 
notators  of  Yasari,  "  he  will  ever  be  found  the  great- 
est, because  he  alone  has  almost  given  speech  to  his 
mute  art.  The  others  make  an  impression  and  arouse 
thoughts  by  what  they  exhibit ;  but  Raphael  speaks 
—  and  we  seem  to  hear  the  most  harmonious  and  per- 
suasive language.  He  is  not  deep  and  impenetrable, 
like  Leonardo  da  Yinci ;  he  does  not  overwhelm  the 
spectator  like  Michael  Angelo ;  he  does  not  intox- 
icate like  Correggio ;  he  does  not  possess  the  magic  of 
Titian,  the  pomp  of  Paolo  Yeronese  or  Tintoretto, 
the  brilliancy  of  Rubens  or  Murillo.  He  fights  like 
the  ancient  Apollo,  without  showing  either  anger  or 
effort." 

Before  leaving  Rome  we  must  also  glance  at  the 
four  magnificent  Sibyls  of  Santa  Maria  della  Pace, 
and  the  Isaiah  in  San  Agostino ;  and,  in  the  Bor- 
ghese  palace,  at  the  portrait  of  Caesar  Borgia,  on 
whose  calm  handsome  face  we  cannot  yet  read  every 
crime — a  Nero  at  twenty  years  of  age.  We  must 
also  notice  in  the  Sciarra  palace  the  portrait  of  a 
young  man  who  is  unknown,  called  the  Suonatore  di 
Violino,  because  he  holds  in  his  hand,  together  with 


ROMAJN    SCHOOL. 


185 


some  flowers,  the  bow  of  a  violin.  I  do  not  think  any 
one  will  contradict  me,  when  I  say  that  this  is  the 
most  admirable  portrait  that  can  be  imagined  ;  it  is, 


THE    VIOLIN- PLAYER. 
By  Raphael.    In  the  Sciarra  Gallery,  Rome. 

indeed,  beyond  a  portrait.  In  this  noble  and  touch- 
ing face,  in  the  studied  attitude,  in  the  graceful 
arrangement  of  light  and  shade,  we  feel  that  the 
painter  wished  to  unite  his  own  -thought  to  the  work 


186  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

of  nature;  we  feel  that  lie  composed  this  picture. 
Painted  in  1518,  in  the  charming  style  of  the  Madon- 
na delta  Sedia,  the  Suonatore  di  Violino  is  also  one 
of  those  incomparable  works  which  can  only  be 
understood  by  careful,  respectful,  and  loving  con- 
templation, and  which  leave  an  indelible  remembrance 
on  the  mind. 

The  works  of  Raphael  are  by  no  means  confined 
to  Italy.  We  will  now  seek  them  through  the  rest 
of  Europe,  and  first  in  Spain,  where  we  shall  find  the 
greatest  number.  It  is  not  surprising  that  the  mon- 
archy of  the  powerful  Charles  Y.,  and  of  such  an 
ardent  collector  as  Philip  IY.,  should  possess  more 
than  any  other.  The  Museo  del  Rey,  at  Madrid, 
contains  two  portraits  and  seven  pictures  by  this 
master.  Rome  alone  possesses  a  larger  number. 

The  painter  of  the  Transfiguration,  of  the  /Spas- 
imo,  and  of  thirty  Holy  families  or  Madonnas,  ren- 
dered himself  so  famous  as  an  historical  painter,  espe- 
cially of  sacred  history,  that  there  is  scarcely  any 
room  to  praise  him  as  a  portrait  painter.  However 
we  meet  everywhere  with  some  specimen  of  his  won- 
derful talent  in  this  style,  and  we  cannot  fail  to 
recognize  that  the  superiority  of  Raphael  is  as  great 
in  a  simple  portrait  as  in  sacred  subjects,  and  that  in 
this  branch  also  he  ranks  before  Titian,  Vandyck, 
Velasquez,  and  Rembrandt. 

At  Madrid,  his  three  portraits,  all  of  them  men's 
heads,  preserve  hirfl  this  pre-eminence  ;  they  are  per- 
fect, and  worthy  of  Raphael.  The  name  of  one 


'    ROMAN    SCHOOL.  187 

original  only  of  these  portraits  is  known  ;  this  is  the 
famous  lawyer  Bartoli  de  Sassoferrato.  But  Raphael 
in  painting  him  had  only  to  refresh  and  brighten  an 
older  portrait,  as  Bartoli  died  at  Perugia  in  1359. 
One  of  the  two  others,  that  of  a  gentleman  with  a 
black  beard,  and  with  a  large  flat  cap,  may  be  an- 
other portrait  of  Balthazar  Castiglione,  the  poet, 
nobleman,  and  friend  of  Raphael,  who  in  that  case 
must  have  painted  him  when  younger  than  the  pic- 
ture in  the  Louvre  represents  him.  In  the  third  of 
these  portraits — a  cardinal  with  a  red  cap  and  robe — 
I  thought  I  recognized,  by  the  long  aquiline  nose  and 
thin  face,  and  by  a  likeness  to  Pascal  and  Conde, 
that  cardinal  Giulio  de  Medici  for  whom  the  Trans- 
figuration was  painted  when  he  was  archbishop  of 
Narbonne,  and  whom  Raphael  has  painted  in  full 
length  near  Leo  X.  in  the  portrait  group  in  the  Pitti 
gallery. 

Of  the  seven  pictures  of  which  I  have  still  to  speak, 
the  first  brought  to  Spain  was  a  Holy  Family,  which 
'has  received  no  particular  designation  as  far  as  I  can 
discover,  but  which  might  be  called  the  Madonna 
among  Ruins^  for  Raphael  placed  the  group  in  the 
midst  of  ruins,  so  many  of  which  were  to  be  seen  in 
Rome.  Shafts  of  broken  columns  strew  the  ground, 
and  the  ruined  walls  of  a  heathen  temple  terminate 
the  view.  The  idea  conveyed  in  it  is  the  triumph  of 
Christianity  symbolically  expressed,  and  it  contains  a 
happy  combination  of  effects.  The  Virgin  placed  in 
the  centre  of  the  picture,  with  ineffable  grace  rests 


188  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

her  left  arm  on  an  ancient  altar,  which  also  serves  as 
a  support  to  St.  Joseph,  who  is  standing  rather  further 
back ;  with  her  right  hand  she  holds  the  Holy  Child, 
\vho  whilst  bending  down  to  embrace  His  young 
companion,  turns  his  Head  towards  Mary,  as  if  to 
call  her  attention  and  her  caresses  to  His  precursor. 
The  infant  Baptist  himself,  tirnid  and  reverent,  is 
opening  a  scroll  on  which  are  inscribed  the  words  he 
afterwards  used  in  welcoming  the  Messiah ;  Ecoe 
Agnus  J)ei,  qui  tollit  peccata  mundi.  It  is  easy,  by 
many  indications,  to  recognize  this  picture  as  one  of 
the  last  works  of  Raphael.  It  is  not  only  acknowl- 
edged to  belong  to  his  third  manner,  but  to  have  been 
done  at  the  same  time  as  the  Holy  Family  in  the 
Louvre,  which  bears  the  date  1518.  To  prove  this 
date  is  to  prove  the  excellence  of  the  work.  I  think 
that  Raphael  must  have  painted  at  the  same  time  two 
works  alike  in  subject  and  perfection  for  the  two  great 
rivals  who  were  then  beginning  to  dispute  the  pre- 
eminence in  Italy  and  in  Europe  generally :  the  Ma- 
donna of  Francis  I.  has  remained  in  France,  the ' 
Spaniards  have  preserved  that  of  Charles  V. 

Four  other  Holy  Families — for  the  Museum  of 
Madrid  now  possesses  five — have  been  sent  there  from 
the  Escurial,  together  with  the  Visitation  of  St.  Eliza- 
beth. This  last  subject  was  probably  neither  conceived 
nor  chosen  by  Raphael;  it  was  painted  by  order. 
Whilst  his  signature  may  be  read  ou  the  left,  Raphael 
Urbinas,  the  following  inscription  is  conspicuous  in 
gold  letters  in  the  centre  of  the  picture:  Marinus 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  189 

Branconiua  F.F.  (fecit  facere,  or  fieri  fecit).  This 
picture  adds  to  the  value  it  possesses  as  a  good  work 
of  Raphael's,  by  being  in  excellent  preservation 
Time  has  respected  it,  and  no  accident  has  required 
the  assistance,  always  so  dangerous,  of  cleaners  and 
restorers  of  pictures. 

On  the  other  hand,  we  can  only  admire  small 
fragments  of  the  exquisite  work  of  a  small  miniature 
in  the  Flemish  style,  whose  delicacy  has  caused  it  to 
suffer  more  than  a  large  canvas  from  the  ravages  of 
time.  It  is  a  Holy  Family  of  such  small  dimensions, 
that  although  the  group  is  completed  by  Joseph  and 
St.  John  the  Baptist,  yet  it  is  not  larger  than  the 
Madone  a  V Enfant  mutin,  that  exquisite  gem  of  the 
Delessert  gallery  at  Paris. 

If  the  Madonna  with  the  Rose  were  the  only  work 
of  Raphael  in  a  gallery  or  cabinet,  it  would  certainly 
receive  all  the  attention  and  honors  which  the  very 
name  of  Raphael  always  commands.  But  at  Madrid 
I  allow  that  it  is  eclipsed  by  so  many  others  of  the 
master's  works,  that  there  it  cannot  pretend  to  take 
the  first  rank.  We  can,  indeed,  recognize  in  the 
arrangement  of  the  groups,  in  the  outlines,  the  expres- 
sion, the  drawing,  and  the  forms,  the  inimitable  hand 
of  the  master;  but  a  rosy  tint  like  that  of  the  flower 
in  the  Virgin's  hand  pervades  the  whole  painting, 
and  gives  it  a  certain  insipidity  unknown  in  the  works 
of  Perugino's  pupil.  I  have  failed  to  discover  at  what 
time  Raphael  painted  this  Madonna — if  it  were  indeed 
he  who  painted  it,  if  a  pupil's  pencil  did  not  finish 


190  WONDEB8    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

what  lie  commenced — but  it  certainly  was  not  done 
in  the  later  years  of  liis  life,  when  his  force  was  fully 
developed ;  and  if,  when  studying;,  he  tried  this  effem- 
inate manner,  he  did  not  continue  it,  but  resumed 
his  noble  severity. 

Between  this  Madonna  with  the  Rose,  injured  by 
a  little  affectation,  and  the  Madonna  del  Pesce,  the 
highest  expression  of  nobility  and  majesty,  is  placed 
the  Madonna  of  the  Pearl.  This  picture  is  preferred 
to  all  the  other  Madonnas  of  Raphael  by  those  who 
delight  especially  in  grace  and  attractive  charms,  and 
who  consider  the  works  of  Correggio  the  highest  type 
of  art.  I  do  not  know  whence  comes  its  name. 
Some  say  that  at  the  sight  of  this  picture,  which  he 
had  just  bought  for  the  sum  of  30001.,  of  the  widow 
of  Charles  I.  of  England,  who  had  it  from  the  dukes 
of  Mantua,  Philip  1Y.  exclaimed :  "  That  is  my 
pearl !  "  Others  have  discovered  on  the  ground,  and 
among  the  playthings  of  the  Holy  Child,  a  shell  which 
might,  by  a  stretch  of  imagination,  be  taken  for  a 
pearl  oyster-shell.  But  let  us  leave  the  word  and 
come  to  the  thing.  Although  the  shadows  of  the 
picture  are  dark,  a  soft  violet  tint  pervades  the  whole, 
conveying  an  effect  of  sweetness  without  insipidity. 
The  whole  composition,  even  to  the  slightest  details 
of  vestments  and  ground,  is  finished  with  that  minute 
care  which  we  admire  in  the  works  of  Leonardo  da 
Vinci.  In  the  midst  of  the  usual  group,  to  which 
Raphael,  though  he  often  painted  the  same  subject, 
always  succeeded  in  imparting  novelty,  the  Virgin 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  191 

is  distinguished  for  her  exquisite,  but  somewhat 
worldly  beauty.  Like  the  Madtmna  della  Sedia,  she 
lifts  her  eyes  to  meet  the  glance  of  others,  and  by 
the  irresistible  power  of  her  look  extends  the  empire 
of  her  beauty  even  over  the  senses.  In  short,  the 
Madonna  of  the  Pearl  is  prettier  and  more  delicate 
than  the  Madonna  del  Pesce,  but  she  has  less  strength 
and  holiness,  and  in  consequence  possesses  less  real 
heauty. 

I  was  right  just  now  ip  calling  this  Madonna  del 
Peace  the  highest  expression  of  nobility  and  majesty. 
Never  has  Raphael,  or  any  of  his  successors,  drawn 
so  much  grandeur  from  so  much  simplicity.  Never 
did  his  pencil  show  more  firmness,  vigor,  and  bril- 
liancy. Those  who  regret,  with  a  somewhat  blind 
sincerity,  that  Raphael  was  not-  a  colorist,  might 
easily  find  consolation  before  this  picture,  as  well  as 
before  the  Transfiguration  or  the  Madonna  di  San 
Sisto,  or  even  before  the  Holy  Family  in  Paris.  The 
Madonna  del  Pesce,  painted  in  1514,  seems  Raphael's 
first  step  in  his  third  and  last  style,  which  he  pre- 
served until  his  death,  and  in  which  he  produced  his 
most  perfect  works.  We  also  feel  in  this  picture,  I 
cannot  say  the  imitation,  but  at  all  events  the  influ- 
ence, of  Fra  Bartolommeo  della  Porta,  from  whom, 
by  a  mutual  interchange  of  lessons,  Raphael  learnt 
to  give  more  breadth  to  his  style  and  more  vigor  to 
his  tints,  at  the  same  time  that  he  taught  the  Frate 
the  delicacy  of  his  touch.  The  Madonna  del  Pesce 
is  grand,  like  the  St.  Mark  of  Florence. 


192  WONDERS   OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

This  is  neither  simply  a  Yirgin  and  Child  nor  a 
Holy  Family,  which  admits,  besides  St.  Joseph,  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  St.  Anne,  and  St.  Elizabeth,  only 
celestial  attendants,  angels  supposed  to  be  invisible ; 
it  is  one  of  those  glorified  Virgins  to  whom  the  painter 
gives  what  surroundings  he  pleases,  prophets,  doctors, 
saints,  and  even  living  personages,  as  Raphael  did, 
following  the  example  of  Fra  Angelico,  Francia, 
Perugino,  Van  Eyck,  Hemling,  and  so  many  others, 
both  Italians  and  Flemings.  Holding  in  her  arms 
the  Holy  Child,  who  stands  on  His  mother's  knees, 
the  Virgin  is  seated  on  a  throne  on  which  she  seems 
to  hold  an  audience  as  a  queen  regent  in  the  name 
of  her  Child.  On  one  side  St.  Jerome,  kneeling  by 
his  symbolical  lion,  seems  to  be  reading  a  book  which 
he  holds  in  his  hand.  On  the  other,  the  Archangel 
Raphael  is  presenting,  at  the  foot  of  the  celestial 
throne,  the  yonng  Tobias,  whom  he  formerly  guided 
on  the  shores  of  the  Tigris,  and  who  bears  the  .miracu- 
lous fish  whose  heart  and  gall  were  at  the  same  time 
to  drive  the  demons  from  the  couch  of  his  bride,  and 
to  restore  his  father's  sight. 

I  have  heard  a  conjecture  about  this  painting 
which  appears  very  probable.  It  was  110  doubt  to 
celebrate,  in  some  degree,  the  admission  of  the  Book 
of  Tobit  among  the  canonical  books.  This  book,  in- 
deed, which  was  written,  at  the  furthest,  only  two 
centuries  before  Christ,  and  probably  in  Greek,  and 
to  which  the  Jews  still  refuse  a  divine  origin,  was 
only  accepted  by  the  Catholic  Church  at  the  begin- 


KOMAN    SCHOOL.  193 

ning  of  the  sixteenth  century.  This  was  to  be  indi- 
cated, according  to  Raphael's  idea,  by  the  presenta- 
tion of  Tobias  to  the  glorified  Virgin  ;  and  as  for  the 
presence  of  St.  Jerome,  opening  a  book,  far  from 
injuring  this  conjecture,  it  confirms  it  almost  irre- 
fragably,  for  it  was  St.  Jerome  who  first  translated 
the  Book  of  Tobit  from  Chaldaic  into  Latin. 

To  return  to  the  picture  whose  value  I  wish  to 
show  in  as  few  words  as  possible:  this  is  the  order  in 
which  I  should  place  it  among  the  works  of  Raphael. 
He  has  painted  the  subject  of  the  Virgin  with  the 
Infant  Saviour  in  three  different  ways  ;  sometimes 
they  are  simple  Madonnas — sometimes  entire  Holy 
Families,  and  sometimes  what  I  have  designated 
glorified  Madonnas,  with  the  surrounding  figures 
supplied  by  the  painter's  imagination.  The  first  of 
the  Madonnas  in  my  opinion  is  the  Madonna  delta, 
Sedia  in  the  Pitti  Palace ;  of  the  Holy  Families, 
that  of  Francis  I.  in  the  Lonvre  ;  of  the  glorified 
Madonnas,  the  Madonna  del  Pesce  at  Madrid,  always 
joining  with  it  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto,  in  the 
Dresden  Museum. 

There  remains  the  Spasimo.  This  is  the  name 
that  has  been  given  to  a  picture  of  Christ  bearing 
the  cross,  which  was  painted  for  the  convent  of  Santa 
Maria  della  Spasimo,  in  Palermo.  The  Spaniards 
call  it  el  extremo  dolor.  Vasari  relates  a  wonderful 
story  about  this  picture,  which  was  taken  afterwards 
from  Sicily  to  Spain.  "  For  the  monks  of  Monte 
01  i veto,  Raphael  executed  a  picture,  on  panel,  of 
13 


194:  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

Christ  bearing  His  cross,  to  be  placed  in  their  monas- 
tery at  Palermo,  called  Santa  Maria  della  Spasimo. 
The  Saviour  Himself,  grievously  oppressed  by  the 
torment  of  the  death  towards  which  He  is  approach- 
ing, and  borne  down  by  the  weight  of  the  cross,  has 
fallen  to  the  earth,  faint  with  heat  and  covered  with 
blood.  He  turns  towards  the  Maries,  who  are  weep- 
ing bitterly.  Santa  Veronica  is  also  among  those 
who  surround  him  ;  and,  full  of  compassion,  she  ex- 
tends her  arms  towards  the  Sufferer,  to  whom  she 
presents  a  handkerchief,  with  an  expression  of  the 
deepest  sympathy.  This  picture  was  entirely  fin- 
ished, when  it  was  in  great  danger,  and  on  the  point 
of  coming  to  an  unhappy  end.  The  matter  was  on 
this  wise :  the  painting,  according  to  what  I  have 
heard  related,  was  shipped  to  be  taken  to  Palermo, 
but  a  frightful  tempest  arose,  which  drove  the  vessel 
on  a  rock,  where  it  was  beaten  to  pieces,  men  and 
merchandise  being  lost  together,  this  picture  alone 
excepted,  which,  secured  in  its  packings,  was  carried 
by  the  sea  into  the  Gulf  of  Genoa.  Here  it  was 
picked  up  and  borne  to  land,  when,  being  seen  to  be 
so  beautiful  a  thing,  it  was  placed  in  due  keeping, 
having  maintained  itself  unhurt  and  without  spot  or 
blemish  of  any  kind — for  even  the  fury  of  the  winds 
and  waves  of  the  sea  had  had  respect  to  the  beauty 
of  so  noble  a  work.  The  fame  of  this  event  was 
bruited  abroad,  and  the  monks  to  whom  the  picture 
belonged,  took  measures  to  obtain  its  restoration. 
Being  then  embarked  anew,  the  picture  was  ulti- 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  195 

inately  landed  in  Sicily  :  the  monks  then  deposited 
the  work  in  the  city  of  Palermo,  where  it  has  more 
reputation  than  the  Mount  of  Yulcan  itself."  I 
shall  complete  the  story  by  adding,  that,  notwith- 
standing its  first  miraculous  preservation,  the  wooden 
panel  on  which  the  /Spa&imo  was  painted  became  so 
worm-eaten  and  dried  up,  that  the  whole  work  ap- 
peared ready  to  fall  into  dust.  But  at  Paris,  when 
it  was  carried  there  among  the  trophies  of  the  vic- 
tories of  the  Republic  and  the  conquest  of  the  Em- 
pire, an  operation  as  successful  as  it  was  bold, 
executed  by  the  skilful  restorer,  M.  Bonnemaison, 
transferred  the  picture  to  canvas,  and  gave  to  this 
chef-d'o3uvre  a  fresh  life. 

Some  connoisseurs  have  discovered,  in  the  narra- 
tive of  Vasari.  the  explanation  of  a  defect  with  which 
some  have  charged  this  painting  of  Raphael ;  the 
holy  woman  who,  in  the  foreground,  extends  both 
arms  towards  the  Saviour — rather  awkwardly  in 
their  opinion — is  not  Mary,  they  say,  but  Veronica, 
whose  handkerchief,  consecrated  by  tradition,  must 
have  disappeared  in  the  accident  which  so  nearly  de- 
stroyed the  painting.  This  is  a  conjecture  which  may 
be  entertained  or  rejected  at  will.  For  myself,  who 
see  no  awkwardness  in  those  extended  arms,  but,  on 
the  contrary,  an  admirable  gesture  of  tenderness  and 
despair,  I  believe  that  Vasari  was  mistaken  in  men- 
tioning Veronica  and  her  handkerchief :  at  least  there 
is  no  appearance  in  the  large  space  that  would  have 
been  occupied  by  the  handkerchief  of  any  fresh  paint- 


196  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

ing,  any  trace  of  a  different  hand  ;  and  that  woman, 
"  adorable, "  as  Melendez  says,  "  in  her  extreme  grief," 
who  has  given  the  name  to  the  picture  among  the 
Spaniards,  cannot  fail  to  be  the  mother  of  Christ,  to 
whom  the  first  place  among  the  Maries  and  their  holy 
companions  would  naturally  belong. 

The  picture  delta  Spasimo — which  the  biographers 
of  Raphael  declare  to  have  been  painted  entirely  by 
his  hand,  without  any  aid  from  his  pupils,  not  exclud- 
ing even  Giulio  Romano,  who  often  put  on  the  first 
layer  of  color — this  picture  is  assuredly  one  of  the 
greatest  poems  of  painting.  Among  the  works  of  Ra- 
phael, or  rather  among  those  of  all  painters,  it  can  on- 
ly be  compared  to  the  Transfiguration,  which  in  size 
and  shape  it  resembles.  And  if  its  destiny  (for  we 
may  say  of  paintings  as  of  books,  habent  sua  fata)heA. 
placed  it  in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome,  the  great  temple  of 
Christendom,  whilst  its  rival  had  travelled  from  Rome 
to  Palermo,  and  from  I^alermo  to  Madrid,  it  would 
have  been  considered  the  masterpiece  of  Raphael.  It 
is  preferable  besides  in  one  important  point,  namely, 
the  perfect  unity  of  the  composition.  No  one  can 
bring  against  this  picture  the  reproach  that  the  action 
is  double  ;  of  this  it  cannot  be  said  that,  in  accordance 
with  the  customs  of  his  time,  Raphael  committed  the 
strange  anachronism  of  placing  two  Christian  priests, 
clothed  in  stoles  and  surplices,  under  a  tree  on  the 
Mount.  In  the  Spasimo  there  is  nothing  useless,  noth- 
ing foreign  to  the  subject,  every  figure,  every  object, 
helps  wonderfully  the  general  effect,  which  is  thus  de- 


EOMAN    SCHOOL.  197 

veloped  in  that  unity,  so  necessary  to  grand  composi- 
tions. In  one  important  particular,  however,  the 
Transfiguration  is  to  be  preferred.  Being  the  last 
work  of  Raphael,  whose  talent  as  well  as  genius  was 
ever  increasing  until  his  early  death,  its  execution  is 
superior,  and  its  general  coloring  finer  than  in  the 
Spasimo,  which  had  been  pain  ted  several  years  before, 
and  which  is  rather  spoiled  in  some  parts,  such  as  the 
heads,  the  hands,  and  all  the  nudes,  by  the  brlckdust 
tint,  the  bistre,  which  Raphael  had  not  then  succeed- 
ed in  replacing  by  a  more  agreeable  and  life-like 
coloring. 

Beyond  the  unity  of  action,  the  principal  excel- 
lence of  the  Spasimo  is  in  force  of  expression.  In 
this  it  marks  the  highest  point  to  which  the  lofty 
mind  of  the  painter,  aided  by  his  skilful  hand,  could 
reach,  and  therefore  the  highest  stretch  of  art.  Jesus, 
in  the  centre  of  the  picture,  who,  when  having  nearly 
reached  the  summit  of  Golgotha,  gives  way  and  falls, 
not  from  the  weight  of  His  cross,  which  is  supported 
by  the  strong  arm  of  Simon  the  Cyrenian,  but  under 
the  sinking  and  agony  of  His  heart;  Mary,  the 
women,  and  disciples,  who  breathe  out  their  grief  in 
a  torrent  of  prayers  and  tears  ;  the  fierce  executioners, 
the  impassive  soldiers,  and  even  the  centurion  on 
horseback,  in  whom  is  expressed  the  power  and  ma- 
jesty of  the  Roman  empire  ;  all  these  different  per- 
sonages, drawn  with  the  boldness  and  firmness  of  the 
master,  arranged  with  that  intelligent  taste  which  in- 
creases the  value  of  some  by  comparison  with  others, 


198  WONDEKS    OF   ITALIAN    AET. 

form  a  scene  at  once  imposing  and  pathetic,  noble 
and  sublime,  full  of  holy  grandeur  and  of  ineffable 
beauty.  The  Spasimo,  which  contains  all  the  beau- 
ties for  which  Raphael  is  celebrated,  and  which  he 
seems  to  have  marked  with  a  seal  of  preference,  by 
affixing  to  it  his  signature — so  seldom  to  be  found — 
is  one  of  those  works  which  he  who  knows  them  must 
despair  of  conveying  any  just  conception  of  by  words, 
and  must  therefore  limit  himself  to  saying,  that 
nothing  but  a  sight  of  the  original  can  enable  the 
student  adequately  to  estimate  the  genius  of  this 
painter. 

In  order  to  go  through  Europe  in  search  of  the 
paintings  of  Raphael,  whose  fertility  was  as  wonderful 
as  his  genius,  we  must  pass  from  the  Museo  del  Rey 
to  the  museum  of  the  Louvre.  And  to  confine  our- 
selves to  the  wonders,  we  must  leave  on  one  side  two 
portraits  of  men  in  one  frame,  which  are  called  Ra- 
phacl  et  son  Maitre  cPArmes,  whose  authenticity  is  no 
longer  sustained — the  portrait  of  Jeanne  d'Aragon 
clothed  in  red  velvet,  which  is  by  Giulio  Romano — • 
a  small  Saint  Margaret,  which  is  much  injured, 
and  which  Raphael  only  sketched — and  even  a  St. 
George  and  a  St.  Michael,  figures  in  miniature,  which 
Raphael  must  have  done  as  an  amusement,  because, 
according  to  Lomazzo,  when  he  drew  these  two 
figures  at  Urbino,  in  1504  (he  was  then  twenty-one 
years  old),  for  the  Duke  Guidobaldo  da  Montefeltro, 
he  painted  one  of  them  on  the  back  of  a  draught- 
board, which  he  used  as  a  panel.  But  we  must  stop 


ROMAN   SCHOOL.  199 

one  moment  before  two  half-length  portraits ;  that  of 
an  unknown  young  man,  about  sixteen  years  of  age, 
and  also  before  that  of  the  learned  poet,  Baldassare 
Castiglione,  a  pupil  of  the  Greek  Chalcondyle,  the 
author  of  the  book  U  Cortegiano,  which  I  have 
already  quoted.  The  intimate  friend  of  Raphael, 
whose  early  death  he  lamented  in  fine  Latin  verses, 
Castiglione  has  mentioned  his  own  portrait  in  another 
poem,  where  the  perfect  resemblance  is  proved  by  the 
following  line : — 

"  Agnoscit,  balboque  patrem  puer  ore  salutat."* 

As  for  the  portrait  of  the  young  man,  some  have 
thought  they  recognized  in  it  Raphael  himself,  not- 
withstanding the  fair  hair.  This  opinion  would  only 
have  been  plausible  if  he  could  have  painted  himself 
at  such  a  tender  age  with  so  ripe  a  talent.  But  the 
features  in  this  portrait,  still  quite  young,  peremptor- 
ily contradict  such  a  supposition  ;  the  more  so  as  this 
portrait  is  the  production  of  the  third  phase  of  the 
genius  of  Raphael,  his  third  manner,  in  which  he 
painted  the  admirable  Suonatore  di  Violino  of  the 
Sciarra  palace. 

We  now  come  to  the  favorite  subject  of  the  mas- 
ter, The  Holy  family. 

Of  this,  his  usual  subject,  which  I  cannot  without 
irreverence  call  common,  the  Louvre  has  collected 
three  examples ;  the  first,  of  very  small  proportions, 
probably,  like  the  Saint  Margaret,  was  only  sketched 

*  "  The  boy  recognizes,  and  with  lisping  mouth  greets  his  father." 


200  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

by  Raphael,  and  may  have  been  merely  copied  from 
one  of  his  drawings.  But  a  second  Holy  family, 
half  the  size  of  life,  known  under  the  names  of  the 
Vierge  au  linge,  or  the  Vierge  au  voile,  or  the  Silence 
de  la  Vierge,  or  the  Sommeil  de  Jesus,  and  a  third 
Holy  Family,  of  a  small  life  size,  usually  called  La 
Belle  Jardiniere,  are  undoubtedly  the  work  of  Ra- 
phael, and  seem  to  have  been  done  entirely  by  him.  It 
is  sufficient  to  add,  that  both  in  style  and  date  they 
belong  to  his  second  manner,  when  he  was  passing 
from  the  still  timid  endeavors  of  the  pupil  of  Peru- 
gino  to  the  bold  masterpieces  of  independent  genius, 
urging  its  flight  beyond  all  the  known  limits  of  art ; 
that  the  Belle  Jardiniere  is  extremely  beautiful,  and 
almost  as  wonderful  as  the  Madonna  del  Cardettino, 
the  pride  of  Florence ;  and  lastly,  that  they  both  pos- 
sess the  triple  sentiment  Raphael  has  imparted  to  all 
his  Madonnas,  the  innocence  of  the  virgin,  the  tender- 
ness of  the  mother,  and  the  respect  of  a  mortal  for 
God. 

There  now  remains  the  Holy  Family  called  that 
of  Francis  I.,  and  St.  Michael  overthrowing  the  Dra- 
gon. These  two  pictures  are  intimately  connected  by 
bearing  the  same  date,  both  having  been  painted  in 
1518  ;  and  by  the  same  history.  It  has  long  been 
related,  that  having  received  an  enormous  and  un- 
heard-of price  for  his  St.  Michael,  from  Francis  I., 
Raphael,  not  wishing  to  remain  his  debtor,  immedi- 
ately sent  him  the  Holy  Family,  begging  him  to  ac- 
cept it  as  a  mark  of  homage;  to  which  Francis  re- 


THE  HOLT  FAMILY  ("  do  FRANCOI3  PRKMIER»).-BY  RAPHAEL. 

In  the  Museum  of  the  Louvre,  Paris. 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  203 

plied,  ;<  that  men  celebrated  in  the  arts,  sharing  the 
immortality  of  kings,  might  treat  with  them,"  and 
that  he  added  a  price  double  to  that  of  the  St.  Mich- 
ael to  this  royal  compliment,  which  may  seem  to  us 
characterised  by  ridiculous  pride  rather  than  by  true 
courtesy.  All  these  anecdotes  are  contradicted  by 
the  writings  of  the  time,  amongst  others  by  the  let- 
ters oT  Goro  Gheri  da  Pistoija,  gonfalonier  of  Flor- 
ence, collected  in  the  Carteggio  of  the  Doctor  Gaye. 
These  letters  prove  that  the  St.  Michael  and  the  Holy 
Family  were  ordered  of  Raphael  by  the  duke  of 
Urbino,  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  and  that  in  the  year  1518 
they  were  sent  through  a  commercial  house  at  Lyons 
to  this  prince,  who  was  then  living  in  France.  They 
must  have  passed  from  him  either  by  gift  or  purchase 
to  the  palace  of  Fontainebleau,  where  they  were  re- 
ceived with  great  pomp  and  solemnity. 

The  name  of  Raphael  bears  its  own  eulogy  with 
it,  and  it  is  quite  useless  to  praise  his  works.  We 
will  then  confine  ourselves  to  remarking  about  the 
'St.  Michael, — who  is  represented  overthrowing  the 
spirit  of  darkness  with  as  much  facility  and  disdain  as 
the  ancient  Pythian  Apollo  the  dragon, — that  the 
Archangel  was  considered  a  symbol  of  the  royal 
power  fighting  against  the  factions,  who  had  not  yet 
become  ever-reviving  hydras.  We  can  understand 
from  this  why,  after  the  wars  of  the  Fronde,  Louis 
XIV.  placed  this  victorious  St.  Michael  at  Versailles 
directly  above  his  throne.  And  yet,  how  couJd  any 
one  recognize  in  the  fallen  and  overthrown  angel,  in 


204  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    AKT. 

that  hideous  dragon  with  hooked  claws,  the  beautiful 
and  delicate  Duchesse  de  Longueville?  Of  the  Holy 
Family,  we  would  say  that,  painted  by  Raphael 
towards  the  close  of  his  life,  at  his  best  time  and  in 
his  best  style,  it  is  at  least  equal  to  his  most  celebrat- 
ed compositions  on  the  same  subject,  and  that  without 
any  partiality  or  injustice  we  may  put  it  in  the  first 
rank  among  all  the  Holy  Families  which  are  scattered 
through  Europe. 

It  will  not  be  to  leave  Raphael  altogether,  if  we 
say  one  word  relative  to  the  principal  work  in  Paris 
of  his  chief  disciple,  a  Nativity,  by  Giulio  Romano 
(Giulio  Pippi,  1499-154-6),  which  is  certainly  a  very 
fine  work,  and  one  of  his  best.  Religious  composi- 
tions allow  certain  anachronisms,  in  the  form  of 
allegories ;  and  he  conceived  the  happy  idea  of  plac- 
ing in  the  foreground,  near  to  the  newly-born  infant, 
St.  Longinus,  bearing  the  lance  with  which  he  was 
afterwards  to  pierce  the  side  of  Jesus  on  the  cross. 
It  is  to  place  the  death  near  to  the  birth,  and  to 
relate  in  this  simple  manner  the  whole  life  of  the  • 
Saviour  of  men,  closed  by  devotion  and  sacrifice. 
This  Nativity  is  placed  in  the  grand  saloon  above  the 
Madonna  of  Francis  I.  Although  overwhelming  for 
the  pupil,  this  vicinity  of  the  master  provokes  the 
same  interesting  and  instructive  comparison  as  the 
two  Holy  Families  by  the  same  artists,  placed  side  by 
side  in  the  hall  of  the  Capi  d'Opera  in  the  Museum 
of  Naples.  Here,  as  there,  we  may  see  at  a  single 
glance  what  the  science  of  composition  is — so  difficult 


KOMAN    SCHOOL.  205 

to  practise  or  to  define  ;  we  may  see  what  causes  that 
almost  imperceptible  difference  between  imitation 
and  invention,  between  the  beautiful  and  the  sublime, 
between  talent  and  genius. 

Turning  from  France  to  England,  we  shall  merely 
pass  through  London,  without  stopping  at  the  Na- 
tional Gallery,  where  the  pictures  by  Raphael  are 
scarcely  secondary.  This  must  not  be  said  as  a  re- 
proach. It  was  only  in  1825  that  this  collection,  now 
so  rich,  was  begun  to  be  formed.  Then,  and  for  a 
long  time  previously,  the  great  works  of  Raphael  had 
already  been  collected  in  public  museums,  and  had 
become  the  property  of  nations.  No  riches,  no  power, 
unless  by  force  of  arms  and  conquest,  could  obtain 
any  more.  "We  will  then  go  direct  to  the  old  palace 
where  the  powerful  Cardinal  Wolsey  lived  in  royal 
magnificence,  and  which  he  gave,  when  in  fear  of 
disgrace,  to  Henry  YIIL,  saying  that  he  had  only 
wished  to  try  a  residence  which  was  worthy  of  so 
great  a  monarch.  We  shall  find  here  the  celebrated 
cartoons  of  Hampton  Court.* 

But  in  the  first  place,  how  is  it  that  these  car- 
toons, painted  in  Rome  for  a  pope,  are  in  an  English 
museum,  and  belong  to  a  Protestant  sovereign  ?  It 
is  a  simple  story,  which  may  be  related  in  very  few 
words  :  "  His  Holiness  (Leo  X.),"  says  Vasnri,  ''desir- 
ing to  have  rich  tapestry  woven  of  gold  and  silk, 
Raphael  himself  made  ready  the  cartoons,  which  he 
colored  with -his  own  hand.  They  were  sent  into 

*  These  are  now  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum. 


206  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

Flanders*  to  be  woven,  and  when  the  cloths  were 
finished  they  were  sent  to  Rome.  Nothing  can  be 
more  wonderful.  This  work,  which  would  be  taken 
for  the  work  of  a  skilful  pencil,  seems  rather  the 
effect  of  a  miracle  than  of  human  art.  The  tapestries 
cost  70,000  crowns."  f  These  cartoons,  which  Ra- 
phael finished  in  1520,  the  same  year  that  he  died, 
represented  scenes  from  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles ;  the  work  of  copying  them  in  tapestry 
was  overlooked  by  Bernard  vaji  Orley  and  Michael 
Coxcie,  Flemish  painters  who  had  been  pupils  of 
Raphael  in  Italy.  They  were  twelve  in  number ; 
but,  either  in  the  manufactories,  where  they  were  cut 
into  strips,  or  in  the  journey,  or  through  accidents  of 
which  tradition  has  preserved  no  remembrance,  five 
of  these  cartoons  have  disappeared.  The  seven  that 
have  been  preserved,  which  are  happily  the  finest  in 
composition  and  style  (as  is  easily  discovered  from 
the  twelve  tapestries  themselves),  were  bought  for 
Charles  I.  by  Rubens,  after  his  residence  in  England 
(1629)  and  the  secret  embassy  with  which  Philip  IV.  of 
Spain  had  entrusted  him.  Charles  I.  left  these  vener- 
able strips  for  a  long  time  buried  in  the  cases.  After 

*  They  were  sent  to  the  manufactories  at  Arras,  from  whence  on  their 
return  to  Italy  they  were  called  Arrazzi. 

\  There  were  at  least  three  copies  made  of  these  tapestries  of  Arras, 
for  besides  the  complete  collection  in  the  Vatican,  there  are  nine  of 
the  twelve  in  the  Gemalde-Sammlung  of  Berlin, — namely,  the  seven  car- 
toons of  South  Kensington,  The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen,  and  The  Con- 
version of  St.  Paul, — and  six  in  the  central  rotunda  of  the  new  Royal 
Gallery  at  Dresden. 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  207 

his  death  they  were  bought  by  Cromwell,  and  finally 
they  were  collected  and  restored  under  William  III., 
who  devoted  to  them  a  large  room  in  the  form  of  a 
gallery  in  his  favorite  palace  of  Hampton  Court, 
where  they  were  framed  in  the  wood-work  and  ar- 
ranged in  suitable  order.  "  They  are  well  kept," 
wrote  the  Comte  de  Caylus  in  1722  ;  "  I  did  not  think 
they  were  so  well  preserved."  The  subjects  repre- 
sented by  the  seven  cartoons  are,  The.  Miraculous 
Draught  of  Fishes ;  St.  Peter  and  St.  John  curing 
the  Lame  Man  at  the  Beautiful  Gate  of  the  Temple  • 
Ely  mas  the  Sorcerer  struck  with  Blindness  ;  St.  Paul 
and  St.  Barnabas  at  Lystra ;  St.  Paul  preaching  at 
Athens;  Jesus  giving  the  keys  to  St.  Peter;  and 
Ananias  struck  dead. 

These  cartoons  of  Raphael  are  not,  like  most 
cartoons,  simple  chalk  drawings  on  grey  or  white 
paper.  To  serve  as  copies  for  tapestry,  they  were 
obliged  to  be  colored.  Thus  they  are  really  pictures 
in  distemper,  and  when  fitted  into  the  walls,  as  they 
were  at  Hampton  Court,  had  the  effect  of  fresco 
paintings.  The  name  cartoon  only  gives  a  very  im- 
perfect idea  of  them.  It  would  doubtless  be  super- 
fluous to  attempt  even  a  succinct  description  of  these 
wonderful  compositions,  which  are  well  known 
through  engravings,  and  by  photographs.  Among 
them,  if  I  dared  prefer  some  to  others,  I  should  name, 
first,  the  Miraculous  Draught  of  Fishes,  and  the 
Preaching  of  St.  Paul.  These  pictures,  designed  in 
the  last  year  of  Raphael's  life,  when  he  had  attained 


208  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

the  greatest  height  of  his  genius,  seem  the  highest 
expression  of  great  monumental  painting.  Perhaps 
we  must  not  even  except  the  Sistine  chapel,  where 
the  ceiling  and  fresco  of  Michael  Angelo  are  to  be 
found.  "  There,"  exclaims  M.  Quatremere  de  Quin- 
cey,  "  Raphael  rises  above  himself;  and  we  may  con- 
sider the  collection  of  these  memorable  compositions 
as  the  finest,  not  only  of  his  own  productions,  but  of 
all  those  of  modern  painting."  To  my  mind  Raphael 
is  as  great  here  as  in  the  Stanze  of  the  Yatican.  What 
more  c6uld  be  said  ?  In  both  places  he  is  the  prince 
of  the  art ;  in  both  places,  as  before  his  other  master- 
pieces, we  must  once  more  say  that  a  sight  of  the 
originals  can  alone  impart  a  true  impression  of  their 
merits. 

If  we  have  passed  through  London  without  a 
single  visit  to  the  National  G-allery,  we  must  also 
pass  by  the  museums  of  Belgium  and  Holland  and 
that  of  the  Hermitage  at  St.  Petersburg,  although 
the  Madonna  of  the  Casa  (TAlba  is  there,  and  the 
Berlin  Gallery,  which  possesses  the  sketch  of  an 
Adoration  of  the  /Shepherds,  and  even  that  of  Munich, 
although  it  boasts  of  possessing  the  Madonna  of 
Dusseldorf,  and  a  Madonna  which  recalls  the  ar- 
rangement of  the  wonderful  Madonna  della  Sedia. 
This,  alas!  is  less  an  advantage  than  a  formidable 
danger.  For  to  those  who  have  shed  tears  of  delight 
and  enthusiasm  before  that  incomparable  chef-d'oeuvre, 
the  Madonna  of  Munich  is  like  an  inferior  portrait  of 
a  lost  friend  ;  the  sight  of  it  causes  a  sigh  of  regret. 
We  will  pass  on  to  Dresden. 


ROMAN    SCHOOL.  209 

There  we  shall  find  the  most  precious  of  all  the 
spoils  carried  out  of  Italy :  I  mean  the  Madonna  di  San 
Sisto.  It  was  ordered  for  the  high  altar  of  the  convent 
of  the  Benedictines  of  St.  Sixtus  at  Placentia,  and  was 
bought  in  1753  by  the  Elector  of  Saxony  and  King 
of  Poland,  Augustus  III.,  for  the  sum  of  20,000 
ducats,  or  40,000  Roman  scudi  (rather  more  than 
8000Z.).  I  should  consider  it  an  insult  to  my  readers 
if  I  attempted  the  slightest  description  of  this  famous 
picture,  painted  somewhat  in  the  style  of  the  Madon- 
na del  Pesce,  and  in  the  same  powerful  manner. 
Every  one  knows  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto,  at  least 
by  copies  and  engravings,  amongst  others  by  that  of 
the  poor  Miiller,  who  from  having  so  long  contemplat- 
ed the  picture  lost  both  his  reason  and  his  life  when 
he  had  completed  his  patient  and  magnificent  work.* 
I  shall  then  only  say  a  very  few  words  of  preliminary 
warning  about  this  picture.  In  order  to  understand 
it  well,  we  must  not  forget  what  the  artist  meant  to 
express  and  what  the  exact  subject  is.  We  should  be 
mistaken  if  we  were  to  seek  in  it  a  simple  Madonna, 
a  representation  of  the  mother  of  our  Lord,  such  as 
the  artist  imagined  her  and  offered  to  the  piety  and 
admiration  of  men.  There  is  more  here  ;  it  is  like 
a  revelation  of  heaven  to  earth  ;  it  is  an  Appearance 
of  the  Virgin.  This  word  explains  the  whole  render- 
ing of  the  picture ;  the  green  curtains  drawn  aside  in 

*  A  new  engraving,  by  Steinla,  of  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto  was 
published  at  Dresden  in  1858,  which  in  ray  opinion  is  the  most  faithful 
copy  of  Raphael's  master-piece. 
14 


210  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

the  upper  part,  the  balustrade  at  the  bottom,  on  which 
the  two  little  angels  lean,  who  seem  by  their  upturned 
glance,  to  point  to  the  celestial  vision  ;  and  St.  Sixtus 
and  St.  Barbara,  kneeling  on  either  side  of  the  Yirgin, 
like  Moses  and  Eli  as  on  Mount  Tabor  at  the  Trans- 
figuration. We  must  also  notice  that  the  two  angels 
at  the  bottom,  whose  presence  few  people  understand, 
give  a  third  plane  to  the  picture,  or  as  the  Italians 
say,  three  orizonti,  first  these  angels,  then  St.  Sixtus 
and  St.  Barbara,  and  lastly  the  Madonna  and  Child, 
who  are  thus  placed  at  a  greater  distance. 

When  we  understand  this,  we  can  appreciate  all 
the  merits  of  this  composition.  What  symmetry  and 
variety  are  to  be  found  in  it !  What  noble  attitudes, 
in  what  wonderfully  graceful  positions  are  the  Yirgin 
and  the  Child  in  her  arms,  and  also  the  two  saints  in 
adoration !  And  what  ineffable  beauty  there  is  in 
everything  that  composes  the  group,  old  man,  Child, 
and  women  !  What  could  be  more  thoughtful,  pious, 
and  holy  than  the  venerable  head  of  Sixtus  I.,  crowned 
by  the  glory  of  the  saints,  the  thin  golden  circle  of 
which  shines  brightly  on  the  blue  back-ground,  com- 
posed of  innumerable  faces  of  cherubim !  What 
could  be  more  noble,  more  tender,  and  more  graceful 
than  the  holy  martyr  of  Nicomedia,  who  unites  every 
kind  of  beauty,  even  that  creamy  complexion  so 
celebrated  by  the  old  fathers  of  the  primitive  church ! 
What  could  we  find  more  astonishing,  more  super- 
human than  that  Child  with  the  meditative  forehead, 
with  the  serious  mouth,  with  the  fixed  and  penetrat- 


EOMAN   SCHOOL.  211 

ing  eye,  that  Child  who  will  become  the  wrathful 
Christ  of  Michael  Angelo  !  And  is  not  Mary  really 
a  radiant  and  celestial  being?  is  she  not  an  appari- 
tion ?  What  eye  could  gaze  on  her  without  falling  ? 
None,  I  am  convinced,  even  of  the  most  ignorant  or 
incredulous.  And  what  strikes  us  even  more  than 
the  look,  what  moves  even  the  depths  of  our  hearts, 
is  not  a  skilful  combination  of  light  and  shadow,  a 
prepared  effect  of  chiaroscuro,  imitating  the  light  of 
everlasting  day ;  it  is  the  irresistible  power  of  moral 
beauty  which  beams  in  the  face  of  the  Virgin  mother, 
whose  veil  is  lightly  thrown  aside  as  if  by  the  breeze ; 
it  is  her  deep  glance,  her  noble  forehead,  her  look,  at 
once  grave,  modest,  and  sweet ;  it  is  that  indefinable 
look  of  something  primitive  and  wild,  which  marks 
the  woman  brought  up  far  from  the  world,  out  of  the 
world,  and  having  never  known  its  pomps  or  deceit- 
ful gayeties. 

I  have  always  thought — what  I  have  already  said 
— that  no  one  attains,  I  will  not  say  to  a  knowledge, 
but  to  a  feeling  for  the  arts,  without  a  sort  of  revela- 
tion which  he  experiences,  at  some  period  of  his  life, 
before  some  special  work,  which  would  seem  to  have 
been  reserved  especially  for  him.  It  also  frequently 
happens  when  any  one  follows  the  works  of  one 
master — "Raphael,  Poussin,  or  Rembrandt,  for  ex- 
ample— from  gallery  to  gallery,  that  at  the  sight  of 
one  particular  picture,  all  the  merits  of  that  master 
are  seen  at  once,  and  also  the  merits  of  other  works 
which  had  not  been  either  understood  or  appreciated 


212  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   AKT. 

until  then.  Decidedly  superior  to  any  other  painting 
in  the  north  of  Europe,  the  Madonna  di  San  Sisto  is 
especially  adapted  for  producing  this  double  result : 
to  make  Raphael  both  known  and  admired,  and  to 
awaken  in  minds  who  have  not  experienced  the 
instinct  for  the  beautiful,  not  only  a  taste  for  the 
arts,  but  even  taste  in  art. 

I  must  now  say  a  few  words  to  conclude  the 
praises  of  .Raphael.  In  all  the  schools  of  painting, 
and  still  more  in  the  whole  history  of  modern  art, 
there  has  been  no  one  to  equal  him.  After  three 
centuries  and  a  half  of  animated  discussions,  of  fre- 
quent revolts,  after  the  interminable  debates  which 
have  taken  place  in  every  party  and  every  sect  around 
the  name  of  Raphael,  as  formerly  the  Greeks  and 
Trojans  fought  around  the  body  of  Patroclus,  Ra- 
phael, calm  and  tranquil,  has  ever  occupied  the  throne 
of  painting,  and  no  other  artist,  however  great  he 
might  be,  whether  fellow-countryman  or  foreigner, 
whether  bearing  the  name  of  Titian,  Albert  Durer, 
Rubens,  Rembrandt,  Hurillo,  or  Poussin,  has  ever 
disputed  his  legitimate  empire. 

Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  had  transported  the 
school  of  Florence  to  Rome ;  after  them  and  their  im- 
mediate disciples  (I  have  already  mentioned  the  prin- 
cipal ones)  this  imported  school  declined,  and  was 
soon  entirely  extinguished.  ISFo  endeavor  in  the 
Roman  school  responded  to  that  in  the  Bolognese. 
During  this  irremediable  decay,  we  need  do  no  more 
than  mention  two  second-rate  painters,  who  never 


LOMBARD   SCHOOL.  213 

rose  above  anecdotal  painting:  Pietro  di  Cortano 
(1596-1669),  and  Carlo  Maratti  (1625-1713),  who 
was,  indeed,  the  "  last  of  the  .Romans."  After  him 
the  only  eminent  artists  at  Rome  were  foreigners,  all 
coming  from  Germany,  Raphael  Mengs,  Angelica 
Kaufmann,  and  Friedrich  Overbeck. 


LOMBARD  SCHOOL. 

I  shall  unite  under  this  name  all  the  masters  of 
the  north  of  Italy  who  are  not  Venetians.  Leonardo 
da  Vinci  carried  the  Florentine  school  to  Milan,  as 
Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  had  to  Rome.  He  was 
not  more  fortunate  than  his  illustrious  rivals ;  like 
them  he  had  some  eminent  disciples,  but  these  had  no 
successors,  and  with  them  the  school  was  extinguished. 
At  their  head  was  Bernardino  Luini  (about  1460  till 
after  1530),  who  may  almost  be  considered  the  rival 
of  Leonardo  as  well  as  his  pupil.  It  is  in  him  as  a 
painter  of  frescoes  and  easel-pictures  that  the  master 
has  survived.  If  it  frequently  happens  that  works  of 
Luini  are  attributed  to  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  as  those 
of  Bonifazio  to  Titian,  and  those  of  Arnold  of  Guel- 
ders  to  Rembrandt,  this  fact,  although  it  sinks  the 
renown  the  pupils  have  justly  acquired  in  the  glory 
of  the  master,  must  be  to  the  honor  of  the  pupils, 
since  it  proves  that  the  mistake  was  possible.  We 
can  see  this  in  the  Louvre :  the  Sommeil  de  Jesus, 
the  Holy  Family,  half  the  size  of  life,  and  still  more 
the  Daughter  of  lie  rod  i  as  receiving  the  head  of  John 


214:  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

the  Baptist,  are  excellent  paintings,  in  whicli  the 
Milanese  almost  equals  the  Florentine,  although  it  is 
by  imitating  him.  We  might  also  mention  in  this 
Florentine  school  at  Milan,  Andrea  Solario  (1458 
until  after  1509),  Cesare  da  Cesto,  Francesco  Melzi, 
and  Gaudenzio  Ferrari  (1484-1549),  the  only  painter 
whom  the  kingdom  of  Piedmont  added  to  those  of 
Italy.  To  name  after  them  the  Procaccini,  would  be 
to  descend  into  the  period  of  decadence. 

But  before  Leonardo  da  Vinci  a  great  painter  had 
arisen  in  the  Lombard  provinces,  and  he  did  not 
come  from  Florence.  This  is  Andrea  Mantegna 
(1431-1506),  whose  work  and  destiny  render  him 
almost  equal  to  Giotto,  allowing  for  the  century  and 
a  half  between  them.  Andrea  Mantegna  was,  like 
Giotto,  a  shepherd  in  his  childhood,  then  under  the 
lessons  of  the  old  Squarcione  almost  as  precocious  as 
Raphael  under  Perugino.  -  He  was  born  at  Padua, 
and  after  his  marriage  with  the  sister  of  the  Bellini, 
joined  the  primitive  Venetian  school,  and  by  his 
works  exercised  a  happy  influence  over  the  schools  of 
Milan,  Ferrara,  and  Parma.  Ariosto  was  right  then 
in  mentioning  him  among  the  three  great  names  in 
painting,  of  the  period  immediately  preceding  Raph- 
ael.* This  illustrious  artist  has  left  numerous  works 
in  the  principal  towns  of  Italy.  Three  of  the  most 
important  of  these  are  in  the  Tribune  of  Florence,  an 
Adoration  of  the  Kings,  a  Circumcision,  and  a  Resur- 

*  Leonardo,  Andrea  Mantegna,  Gian  Bellini.     (Orlando  Furioso, 
canto  xxiii.) 


LOMBARD   SCHOOL.  215 

rection.  The  museum  of  Naples  possesses  his  St. 
Euphemia,  which  is  considered  his  masterpiece. 
However,  in  order  to  dwell  a  little  on  the  qualities 
and  style  of  Mantegna,  I  prefer  to  select  those  of  his 
works  which  are  to  be  found  in  the  Louvre. 

There  are  four  of  these  :  first,  a  Calvary,  painted 
in  distemper,  perhaps  before  he  had  adopted  or  even 
known  the  processes  of  the  Fleming  Jan  van  Eyck, 
which  were  not  generally  employed  in  Italy  until  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  This  conjecture 
seems  probable,  if  we  consider  that,  when  eighteen 
years  of  age,  Mantegna  painted  the  high  altar  of 
Santa  Sofia  of  Padua, — as  Raphael  the  Sposalizio  / 
and,  as  his  biographers  declare,  was  admitted  into 
the  corporation  of  painters  of  Padua  at  the  age  of 
ten,  as  Lucas  Dammesz  was  at  Ley  den.  This  Cal- 
vary shows  great  firmness  in  the  drawing,  and  a  deep 
expression  of  sadness.  The  soldier  who  is  seen  in  the 
foreground  is  thought  to  be  a  portrait  of  Mantegna 
himself.  Next  comes  the  Vierge  d  la  Victoire,  a 
beautiful  Christian  allegory  in  honor  of  the  marquis 
of  Mantua,  Francesco  di  Gonzaga,  who  could  not, 
however,  even  with  the  help  of  the  Venetians,  stop 
the  passage  or  the  return  of  the  French  troops  under 
Charles  VIII.  He  was  the  zealous  protector  of  the 
painter,  and  was  repaid  in  flattering  praises  during 
his  life,  and  eternal  fame  after  his  death.  This  pic- 
ture, intended  for  the  church  of  Santa  Maria  della 
Vittoria,  which  was  built  on  plans  furnished  by  Man- 
tegna, who  practised  all  the  arts,  was  painted  in  dis- 


216  WONDEKS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

temper,  according  to  Yasari,  by  whom  he  is  mentioned 
with  praise.  Now  as  this  Vierge  d  la  Victoire  cannot 
he  anterior  to  the  retreat  of  the  French  in  1495,  it  is 
evident  that  Mantegna  returned  by  taste  and  vol- 
untary choice  to  the  old  Byzantine  processes.  This 
is  curious,  and  shows  us  how  it  happened  that  in 
Flanders  great  artists,  such  as  Hemling  of  Bruges, 
adhered  to  the  primitive  processes  a  long  time  after 
the  discovery  of  the  brothers  Van  Eyck.  Lastly, 
there  are  the  Parnassus,  and  Wisdom  Victorious  over 
the  Vices,  both  allegories,  this  time  pagan  and  painted 
in  oil.  Mautegna  does  not  merely  show  in  these  his 
great  artistic  powers,  elevation  of  style,  firmness  of 
lines  and  contours,  justice  and  solidity  of  coloring ; 
he  also  displays  that  uncommon  knowledge,  I  was 
going  to  say  divination  of  the  antique,  in  which  he 
preceded  Poussin  by  two  centuries. 

But  there  is  another  of  his  works  in  which  he  has 
shown  a  far  greater  degree  of  this  knowledge  or 
divination.  We  must  seek  it  in  England,  in  the  old 
palace  of  Hampton  Court.  It  is  a  series  of  nine 
cartoons,  painted  in  distemper.  These  had  doubtless 
been  prepared  for  the  long  circular  fresco  which  Man- 
tegna painted  for  the  Marquis  Ludovico  Gonzaga,  in 
the  Castle  of  San  Sebastiano,  at  Mantua,  the  first 
sketches  for  which  are  preserved  in  the  Belvedere  at 
Vienna.  They  are  called  the  Triumph  of  Julius 
Ccesar  on  his  return  from  Gaul.  There  must  be  an 
error,  at  least  in  the  second  part  of  the  title.  In  the 
first  place  the  figure  of  the  conqueror  is  wanting, 


LOMBARD    SCHOOL.  217 

which  fact  leaves  the  field  open  to  suppositions. 
Again,  in  the  procession  are  carried  statues,  vases, 
and  pictures,  the  tabulcB  pictce,  the  simulacra  pugna- 
rum  picta,  of  which  Livy  and  Pliny  speak,  all  things 
gather  resembling  the  spoils  taken  from  the  Greeks  than 
from  the  Gauls  or  Britons.  It  must  be  rather  the 
triumph  of  Paulus  ^Emilius  after  his  victory  over 
Perseus,  or  of  Sylla  after  the  taking  of  Athens,  or  of . 
Csesar  after  Pharsalia.  It  would  be  better  to  name 
these  cartoons,  as  at  Vienna,  a  Roman  Triumph. 
Whatever  the  title,  the  collection  no  less  interesting 
than  curious,  for  these  mural  paintings  noble  and 
vigorous  in  their  drawing,  learned  and  ingenious  in 
their  composition,  in  a  style  worthy  of  the  ancients, 
are  certainly  without  equals  in  the  works  of  Hantegna 
for  both  material  and  moral  grandeur. 

It  would  be  unjust  after  the  eulogy  of  the  most 
illustrious  of  the  Paduan  artists,  not  to  grant  at  least 
a  mention  to  the  most  celebrated  painter  of  the  little 
school  of  Ferrara.  This  is  Benventito  Tisio  (1481- 
1559),  who  is  usually  called  Garofalo,  either  because 
he  often  signed  his  pictures  with  a  pink  as  a  mono- 
gram, or  because  he  had  received  in  his  youth  the 
name  of  the  village  where  he  was  born — Garofalo  in 
the  Duchy  of  Ferrara.  He  seldom  endeavored  to 
attain  a  grand  style  by  depending  on  large  propor- 
tions. We  only  find  four  large  paintings  by  him — the 
Sibyl  before  Augustus,  in  the  Museum  of  the  Vatican  ; 
the  Descent  from  the  Cross,  in  the  Borghese  Palace  ; 
the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Laivrence,  in  the  museum  at 


218  WONDERS   OF    ITALIAN    AKT. 

Naples ;  and  the  Apparition  of  the  Virgin  to  St. 
JZruno,  in  the  gallery  of  Dresden.  This  last,  a  very 
large  picture,  bearing  the  signature  of  the  master,  and 
the  date,  1530,  may  be  considered  as  the  best  work 
of  this  painter,  whose  almost  constant  custom  was  to 
paint  small  figures.  In  this  painting  he  displays  his 
graceful  and  elegant,  as  well  as  firm  style,  which, 
even  when  confined  within  narrow  limits,  rises  to 
grandeur. 

It  was  between  Ferrari  and  Milan,  in  the  town  of 
Correggio,  that  there  was  born,  in  1494,  the  greatest 
painter  of  all  the  schools  in  the  north  of  Italy,  An- 
tonio Allegri,  who,  from  the  name  of  his  birthplace, 
is  called  Correggio.  He  never  quitted  the  small 
states  between  Lombardy,  Tuscany,  and  Romagna; 
he  had  no  other  masters  than  one  of  his  uncles  named 
Lorenzo,  and  perhaps  some  inferior  artist  of  Modena. 
He  died  when  forty  years  of  age  (1534),  without  hav- 
ing seen  either  Florence,  Rome,  or  Venice,  and  with- 
out having  known  any  of  the  great  works  of  his  time 
except  that  picture  of  Raphael  (no  doubt  the  Saint 
Cecilia  of  Bologna),  before  which  he  uttered  his  well- 
known  exclamation,  AncK  io  son  pittore.  Unknown, 
solitary,  and  so  poor  as  even  sometimes  to  suffer  from 
hunger,  he  sold  his  pictures  at  miserable  prices,  for  a 
few  crowns,  a  sack  of  corn,  and  a  load  of  wood. 
"  This  melancholy  artist,"  say  the  annotators  of  Va- 
sari,  "  who  introduces  us  to  ancient  grace  and  pagan 
voluptuousness,  who  imprinted  the  serenity  of  his 
s. .ul  on  his  immortal  paintings,  and  died  on  the  high 


LOMBARD    SCHOOL.  219 

road,  like  a  beast  of  burden,"*  owed  his  progress,  his 
final  success,  his  honor,  and  his  glory,  entirely  to 
himself.  The  work  of  his  pencil  is  really  mysterious. 
No  one  can  understand  it.  Annibal  Carracci  wrote 
justly :  "  The  pictures  of  this  great  master  really 
arise  from  his  own  thought  and  understanding. 
Others  found  theirs  on  something  which  does  not 
belong  to  them,  some  on  a  copy,  some  on  statues  or 
even  on  engravings.  Correggio's  paintings  belong  to 
himself  alone  :  he  only  is  original." 

Correggio  always  lived  at  Parma,  and  at  Parma 
are  the  greater  part  of  his  works.  Such  an  education 
and  mode  of  life  must  have  contributed  to  his  origin- 
ality equally  with  the  power  of  his  natural  genius. 
At  twenty-six  years  of  age  he  painted  the  cupola  of 
the  church  of  San  Giovanni.  It  has  been  thought, 
on  seeing  the  gigantic  figures  and  imposing  effect  of 
these  frescoes,  that  it  had  been  suggested  by  the  Last 
Judgment  of  Michael  Angelo ;  but,  besides  the  fact 
that  Correggio  had  never  seen  the  Sistine  chapel,  the 
dates  forbid  any  accusation  of  plagiarism.  The  cupola 
of  San  Giovanni  was  painted  between  1520  and  1524, 
whilst  the  fresco  in  the  Sistine  was  only  terminated 
in  1541.  If,  as  is  asserted,  there  was  imitation,  Cor- 
reggio was  certainly  not  the  imitator.  He  could  only 
have  known  through  drawings  the  colossal  figures  on 
the  ceiling.  This  Ascension  was  only  a  sort  of  essay 

*  It  is  related  that  having  received  a  payment  from  the  monks  of  a 
convent  in  heavy  copper  money,  he  carried  it  away  in  a  bag  on  his 
back,  became  heated  on  the  road,  was  attacked  with  pleurisy,  and  died. 


220  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN   ART. 

or  prelude,  to  enable  him  to  undertake  the  magnificent 
Assumption  which  fills  the  whole  cupola  of  the  Gothic 
cathedral  called  the  Duomo  of  Parma.  This  com- 
position, which  he  finished  in  1530,  is  still  larger  than 
the  other.  The  apostles,  a  number  of  saints,  and  all 
the  heavenly  hosts,  from  the  archangels  with  unfold- 
ed wings  to  the  faces  of  the  cherubim  without  bodies, 
who  welcome  the  Yirgin  at  her  entrance  into  heaven, 
in  the  midst  of  songs  of  joy  and  the  honors  of  a  tri- 
umph, are  the  actors  in  this  immense  scene.  The 
churchwardens  of  the  time,  perplexed  by  such  a 
number  of  figures,  said  to  the  painter,  "  You  have 
served  us  with  a  dish  of  frogs ! "  But  it  was  in 
speaking  of  this  Assumption  that  Ludovico  Carracci 
said  to  his  cousins:  "•  Study  Correggio;  in  him  every- 
thing is  grand  and  graceful."  Annibal  Carracci 
did  not  know  how  to  express  his  admiration  of  it. 
"  In  this  painting,"  says  Vasari,  "  the  foreshortenings 
and  the  perspective  from  the  bottom  to  the  top  are 
really  wonderful."  Dornenichino,  Guido,  Lanfranc, 
and  manv  others,  have  imitated  him  in  analogous 

%/  /  O 

compositions ;  and  Louis  David,  who  at  first  rather 
copied  the  style  of  his  uncle  Boucher,  said  he  had 
begun  his  return  to  the  beautiful  in  presence  of  this 
fresco  of  Correggio. 

At  the  close  of  the  last  century  there  was  found, 
in  a  convent  of  the  Benedictines,  after  having  been 
forgotten  two  hundred  years,  another  admirable  fresco 
by  Correggio,  divided  into  several  parts,  and  contain- 
ing a  number  of  small  subjects,  all  of  them  pagan. 


LOMBARD    SCHOOL.  221 

Diana,  Minerva,  Adonis,  Endymion,  Fortuna,  the 
Graces,  and  the  Fates.  This  fresco  had  been  ordered 
by  his  patroness,  the  abbess  Giovanna  di  Piacenza. 
It  was  she  also  who  procured  him  the  order  for  the 
Ascension  and  the  Assumption. 

These  are  the  works  which  Correggio  has  left  in 
the  buildings  of  Parma.  The  little  museum  of  the 
town  also  boasts  the  possession  of  some,  amongst 
them  two  of  his  greatest  masterpieces,  the  San  Girol- 
amo,  and  the  Madonna  delta  Scodella.  . 

It  is  not  well  known  why  the  first  of  these  pic- 
tures, sometimes  called  11  Giorno  (the  day),  in  opposi- 
tion to  la  Notte  (the  night),  of  Dresden,  has  received 
the  name  of  St.  Jerome.  It  represents  Mary  holding 
on  her  knees  the  Holy  Child,  whilst  Mary  Magdalen 
humbly  kisses  His  feet ;  two  angels  and  St.  Jerome 
with  his  lion  complete  the  scene.  The  great  doctor 
of  the  Latin  church  is  only  a  secondary  personage, 
placed  in  profile  in  a  corner  of  the  picture,  like  St. 
Paul  in  the  St.  Cecilia  of  Raphael.  There  is  nothing 
more  singular  than  the  destiny  of  this  famous  picture, 
painted  in  1524,  the  same  year  in  which  Correggio  fin- 
ished the  cupola  of  San  Giovanni.  Brisei  de  Cossa,  or 
Colla,  the  widow  of  a  gentleman  of  Parma  named  Ber- 
gonzi,  who  had  ordered  it  of  Correggio,  paid  47  sequins 
(about  22Z.)  for  it,  and  supplied  him  with  food  during 
the  six  months  he  was  working  at  it ;  she  gave  him 
besides  two  loads  of  wood,  several  measures  of  wheat, 
and  a  fat  pig.  The  good  lady  left  this  picture  to  the 
church  of  San  Antonio  Abbatte,  where  it  remained 


222  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

until  1749.  At  that  time  the  king  of  Portugal  (others 
say  of  Poland),  offered  a  considerable  sum  for  it 
(14,000  sequins  according  to  some  authorities,  40,000 
according  to  others)  to  the  abbot  of  San  Antonio,  who 
would  have  sold  and  given  it  up,  to  obtain  money  to 
finish  the  church,  if  the  duke  don  Filippo,  informed 
of  it  by  public  clamor,  had  not  carried  off  the  picture. 
It  was  placed  at  first  in  the  sacristy  of  the  cathedral ; 
but  seven  years  later,  a  French  painter,  not  having 
succeeded  in  getting  permission  from  the  canons  to 
copy  it,  complained  to  the  duke,  who  had  the  work 
of  Correggio  carried  off  by  twenty-four  grenadiers, 
and  conveyed  to  his  country  seat  at  Colorno.  The 
following  year,  1756,  the  duke  presented  it  to  the 
Academy,  after  having  bought  it  of  the  cardinal 
Bussi,  then  preceptor  of  the  church  of  San  Antonio, 
for  the  sum  of  1500  Koman  crowns,  besides  250  se- 
quins as  the  price  of  another  picture  ordered  of  Bat- 
toni  to  replace  that  of  Correggio.  In  1798,  the  time 
of  what  Paul  Louis  Courier  called  nos  illustres  pil- 
lages, the  duke  of  Parma  offered  a  million  francs 
(40,000^.)  to  be  allowed  to  keep  this  picture,  for  which 
the  widow  Bergonzi  had  paid  47  sequins;  but 
although  the  military  chests  were  empty,  the  French 
commissaries  Monge  and  Berthollet  remained  firm, 
and  the  picture  of  Correggio  was  brought  to  Paris, 
where  it  remained  until  1815. 

Perhaps  it  is  owing  to  this  circumstance  that  it  is 
more  generally  known  than  the  Madonna  della  Sco- 
della,  which  is  a  Flight  into  Egypt.  I  know  that 


LOMBARD   SCHOOL.  223 

Annibal  Carracci  said  that  he  preferred  this  St. 
Jerome  even  to  the  St.  Cecilia  of  Kaphael ;  I  know 
that  it  is  in  this  picture  that  is  to  be  seen  the  greatest 
degree  of  that  delicate  charm  which  first  appears  in 
the  works  of  Correggio  ;  I  know  that  elegance  could 
not  be  carried  further  without  affectation,  that  grace 
is  here  united  to  grandeur  and  the  magic  effect  of 
coloring.  But  it  seems  to  me  that  the  Madonna  della 
/Scodetta,  which  Yasari  called  divine,  yields  to  the  St. 
Jerome  neither  in  the  general  effect  or  in  the  details, 
in  expression  or  in  execution  ;  it  has  also  the  advan- 
tage of  being  better  preserved.  It  is  rare,  indeed,  for 
a  picture  to  retain  after  three  centuries  its  firmness 
and  freshness.  I  believe  it  is  because  of  these  two 
works,  so  often  copied  and  engraved,  that  Correggio 
has  been  placed  by  Raphael  Mengs  immediately  after 
the  painter  of  the  Madonna  della  Sedia. 

After  Parma  it  is  in  Naples  that  the  best  works  of 
Correggio  are  to  be  sought.  We  must  stop  one 
moment  at  Florence,  however,  to  admire  in  the 
Tribune  of  the  Uffizi  a  Virgin  adoring  the  Infant 
Jesus,  presented  by  a  duke  of  Mantua  to  Cosmo  II. 
de  Medici.  This  picture,  in  every  respect  worthy  of 
Correggio,  is  remarkable  for  its  arrangement ;  the 
same  drapery  which  envelops  the  body  of  the  Virgin 
is  also  drawn  over  her  head,  and  on  the  end  of  the 
drapery  the  Holy  Child  is  sleeping,  so  that  he  would 
be  awakened  by  the  slightest  movement  of  His  mother. 
This  arrangement  seems  to  explain  the  immobility  of 
the  personages,  and  gives  the  spectator  a  sort  of 
anxiety  which  is  not  without  a  charm. 


224  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN  ART. 

The  paintings  of  Correggio  are  everywhere  as  rare 
as  they  are  eagerly  sought  after ;  there  are  only  four 
compositions  by  him  in  the  Studi  at  Naples.  These 
are,  a  simple  sketch  of  a  Madonna,  and  three  master- 
pieces of  delicacy  and  fine  execution ;  the  Madonna, 
called  by  some  del  Corisiglio,  by  others  della  Zinga- 
rella  /  Hagar  in  the  Desert  j  and  the  Marriage  of  St. 
Catherine.  The  Hagar  is  a  perfect  jewel,  of  the  most 
exquisite  feeling  and  wonderful  execution.  As  for 
the  Marriage  of  St.  Catherine,  which  has  been  so 
often  imitated,  copied,  and  engraved,  it  is  quite  un- 
necessary to  praise  that.  Although  its  purchase  by 
the  kings  of  Naples  was  made  a  long  time  ago,  it  is 
said  to  have  cost  20,000  ducats. 

In  the  palaces  of  the  kings  of  Spain  there  was 
only  one  copy  of  Correggio,  and  there  was  therefore 
nothing  in  them  to  give  up  to  the  Museo  del  Rey. 
But  the  Escurial  was  able  to  supply  this  deficiency, 
as  it  had  done  in  the  works  of  Leonardo  da  Yinci. 
It  has  given  to  the  museum  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
as  well  as  least  known  works  of  Correggio.  This 
precious  picture  had  been  hidden  under  a  cover  of 
paint,  with  which  it  had  been  outrageously  smudged, 
under  pretence  of  veiling  some  very  innocent  nudities. 
Happily  some  one  guessed  what  was  concealed  under 
this  sacrilegious  covering ;  it  was  removed  skilfully, 
and  now  the  picture  of  Correggio,  which  had  been 
thus  protected  from  the  ravages  of  time,  has  resumed 
the  fresh  and  brilliant  coloring  which  three  centuries 
would  necessarily  have  injured.  The  figures  are  half 


LOMBARD   SCHOOL.  225 

the  size  of  life,  and  there  is  a  landscape  background ; 
the  subject  is  that  usually  known  as  the  Noli  me 
tangere,  and  represents  the  appearance  of  Jesus  after 
His  resurrection  to  Mary  Magdalen.  On  her  knees, 
her  hands  joined,  her  head  cast  down,  the  Magdalen 
drags  her  rich  garments  in  the  dust.  The  attitude  of 
the  Saviour,  in  whose  hands  the  painter  has  placed  a 
spade,  is  truly  admirable,  as  also  is  the  expression  of 
His  countenance.  Nothing  in  the  work  of  the  pencil 
can  surpass  the  execution  of  that  fine  figure,  the  soft 
tints  and  harmonious  colors  which  stand  out  against 
the  deep  blue  of  the  sky  and  the  dark  green  of  a  thick 
/oliage.  This  is  a  true  and  complete  Correggio,  a 
charming  picture,  which  without  possessing  through 
its  proportions  and  subject  the  importance  of  his  great 
compositions  in  Parma  or  Dresden,  yet  yields  in 
charm  and  value  to  none  of  the  rare  works  of  its 
immortal  author. 

The  National  Gallery  of  London  claims  to  pos- 
sess six  paintings  by  Correggio.  Three  of  these  only 
will  occupy  our  attention ;  first,  a  Holy  Family, 
which  is  not  a  foot  square,  but  which  appears  to  me 
equal  to  the  Hagar  of  Naples,  or  the  Magdalen  of 
Dresden,  that  is  to  say,  to  rise  to  the  first  rank  in 
Correggio's  miniatures,  for  it  is  a  charming  work  in 
which  nature,  grace,  and  expression,  are  rendered 
with  the  utmost  delicacy  of  the  pencil.  Then  the 
Ecce  Homo  and  the  Education  of  Cupid*  which 


No.  10.     M«rcury  instructing  Cupid  in  the  presence  of  YTeuua. 
16 


220  WONDEB8    OF    ITALIAN   ART. 

both  came  from  the  collection  of  Murat,  and  which 
cost  the  enormous  sum  of  eleven  thousand  guineas. 
I  feel,  indeed,  much  difficulty  in  speaking  of  the  first 
of  these  two  pictures.  I  am  told  the  price  it  cost,  and 
that  an  act  of  parliament  authorized  the  purchase ; 
I  am  shown  a  copy  of  the  picture,  made,  it  is  said, 
by  Ludovico  Carracci,  and  an  engraving  by  Agostino ; 
I  am  informed  of  the  number  of  amateurs  who  ad- 
mire, and  of  students  who  copy  it.  How  can  I 
throw  a  doubt  after  this  on  the  excellence  or  authen- 
ticity of  the  work  ?  1  humbly  confess  that  one  opin- 
ion is  very  weak  against  such  authorities  ;  but  as  it  is 
indeed  my  own  that  1  am  expressing,  I  must  venture 
to  say  that  the  Eoce  Homo  neither  appears  to  me  to 
be  the  work  of  Correggio,  nor  even  to  be  a  very  fine 
work.  In  the  first  place,  the  copy  and  engraving  of 
the  Carracci  prove  absolutely  nothing,  for  the  picture 
which  is  called  the  original  may  just  as  well  be  a 
copy ;  and,  indeed,  if  I  had  to  choose,  I  should  prefer 
that  of  Carracci,  in  which  the  faults  I  am  about  to 
mention  are  weakened  or  corrected.  These  defects 
(still  according  to  my  own  opinion,  which  I  certainly 
do  not  intend  to  impose  on  any  one  else)  are  of  several 
kinds,  in  composition,  coloring,  and  drawing.  First, 
that  almost  inevitable  confusion  which  arises  from 
half-length  figures.  I  could  defy  even  the  most  in- 
genious artist  to  finish  the  scene  by  giving  the  persons 
contained  in  it  whole  bodies.  The  head  of  the 
Virgin,  who  falls  back  fainting,  is  of  great  beauty,  in 
the  expression  of  deep  grief,  in  the  boldness  of  the 


LOMBARD    SCHOOL.  227 

attitude,  and  in  the  delicacy  of  execution.  The  only 
fault  we  can  find  in  it  is  its  too  great  youth  fulness'; 
instead  of  being  a  Mary,  it  is  a  Magdalen.  This  part 
of  the  picture  is  really  worthy  of  Correggio.  As  for 
the  figure  of  Christ,  it  seems  to  me  rather  languishing 
than  resigned.  His  chest  is  too  narrow,  and  the 
fettered  arm  which  He  crosses  before  Him,  as  well  as 
the  extended  hand  of  Pilate,  are  mere  sketches.. 
How  can  we  recognize  in  this  the  genius  and  hand 
which  traced  the  San  Girolamo  of  Parma,  the  Anti- 
ope  of  Paris,  and  the  Notte  of  Dresden  ? 

But  what  increases  my  surprise  on  seeing  the  in- 
fatuation which  this  picture  causes,  is,  that  it  is  not 
necessary  to  seek  comparisons  for  it  in  Italy,  France, 
or  Germany.  Correggio,  the  true  Correggio,  noble, 
graceful,  delicate,  and  inimitable,  is  there  within  a  few 
steps  of  this  doubtful  Ecce  Homo.  We  can  find  all  his 
most  charming  qualities  in  the  Education  of  Cupid. 
It  is  really  impossible  for  any  man  of  good  taste  and 
impartiality  to  hesitate  between  these  two  pictures, 
either  on  their  authenticity  or  their  merit. 

There  are  two  pictures  by  Correggio  at  Paris. 
One  of  these  is  called  the  Marriage  of  St.  Catherine, 
and  as  it  is  placed  in  the  square  room,  near  a  paint- 
ing by  Fra  Bartolomrneo  (il  Frate)  of  an  enthroned 
Madonna,  who  under  the  dais  of  her  throne  is  also 
presiding  at  the  union  of  the  young  ascetic  of  Sienna 
with  the  Divine  Child,  we  may  make  a  useful  and  in- 
teresting comparison.  It  is  easy  to  recognize  at  a 
glance  what  a  radical  difference  may  separate  two 


228  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    AKT. 

pictures  both  treating  the  same  subject,  both  celebrat- 
ed, both  excellent,  and  how  the  means  taken  to  insure 
success  may  be  as  opposite  as  the  point  of  view  and 


THE  MYSTICAL  MARRIAGE  OF  ST.  CATHERINE. 
By  Correggio,     In  the  Louvre.. 

thoughts  of  the  artists.  To  be  Christian,  the  Frate  is 
austere ;  to  be  graceful,  Correggio  becomes  almost 
pagan.  In  one  painting  all  is  grave  and  solemn  ;  it 
is,  indeed,  the  mystical  union.  In  the  other,  every- 
thing is  smiling  and  charming  ;  it  is  really  love. 


LOMBARD    SCHOOL.  229 

In  the  Neapolitan  Museum  degli  Studi,  there  is 
another  Marriage  of  St.  Catherine,  also  by  Correggio, 
and  also  celebrated,  imitated,  copied,  and  engraved. 
We  will  not  take  upon  us  the  bold  task  of  deciding 
between  Paris  and  Naples,  which  possesses  the  origi- 
nal and  which  the  repetition.  We  will  leave  both 
towns  to  boast  of  the  original.  But  this  circumstance 
is  sufficient  to  induce  us  to  prefer  the  other  picture 
of  Correggio  in  the  Louvre,  the  Sommcil  d'Antiope. 
It  is  more  important  besides  in  its  dimensions  and 
more  appropriate  in  its  subject  to  the  taste  and  in- 
clination of  the  master,  who  was  the  most  pagan  of 
all  the  pagans  of  the  Renaissance.  This  wonderful 
Sommeil  d'Antiope  can  only  be  compared  in  its 
style  to  the  Education  of  Cupid,  and,  indeed,  if  I 
were  obliged  to  choose  between  them,  I  should  give 
the  preference  to  Antiope.  There  we  see  all  the 
beauties  of  Correggio,  that  supreme  elegance  of  which 
he  was  so  fond,  that  it  sometimes  led  him  to  the 
brink  of  affectation,  in  which,  indeed,  his  imitators 
plunged;  that  charming  grace  which  so  often  ac- 
companies power ;  that  deep  knowledge  of  chiaros- 
curo, and  that  exquisite  harmony  which  the  charm  of 
form  and  the  magic  of  color  combine  to  produce. 

It  is  fortunate  that,  having  come  to  France,  the 
Antiope  should  have  remained  in  the  Louvre,  and  not 
have  been  placed  with  the  other  paintings  represent- 
ing the  adventures  of  the  master  of  the  gods,  lo  and 
Leda,  in  the  cabinet  of  Louis  of  Orleans ;  he  would 
have  mutilated  this  also  with  the  scissors,  and  the  ill- 


230  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN   AET. 

adjusted  remains  of  this  charming  mythological  piece 
would  have  been  now  with  the  others  in  the  gallery 
at  Berlin.  Bought,  about  the  year  1725,  of  the  heirs 
of  Livio  Odescalchi,  to  whom  Christina  of  Sweden 
had  given  them,  these  two  pictures  formed  a  part  of 
the  famous  collection  of  the  dukes  of  Orleans,  sub- 
sequently foolishly  dispersed  by  Philippe  Egalite, 
who  sold  a  number  of  master  pieces  out  of  France. 
Louis,  the  son  of  the  regent  and  grandfather  of  the 
regicide,  had  just  inherited  the  great  wealth  of  his 
house.  He  was  a  fiery  Jansenist.  One  day  he  cut 
off  the  heads  of  lo  and  Leda,  threw  them  into  the  fire, 
and  cut  the  canvas  to  pieces.  The  superintendent  of 
the  gallery,  Noel  Coypel,  succeeded  in  placing  the 
scattered  shreds  on  fresh  canvas,  filled  the  gaps  with 
painting,  and  even  painted  the  two  heads  which  had 
been  thrown  into  the  flames.  After  the  death  of 
Coypel  the  mutilated  pictures  were  bought,  in  1755, 
for  Frederick  the  Great.  They  remained  at  Sans 
Souci,  until  1806 ;  then  they  were  brought  to  the 
Louvre  among  the  other  spoils  of  the  imperial  victo- 
ries, and  Denou  attempted  a  new  restoration  on  them. 
The  painting  of  Coypel  was  effaced,  and  the  original 
work  restored  as  much  as  possible ;  the  separate  parts 
were  brought  together  by  simple  glazing,  and  Prud- 
hon,  the  Correggio  of  our  century,  repainted  the  head 
of/o.  The  invasion  of  1814  restored  to  Prussia  the 
favorite  pictures  of  Frederick ;  and  the  superintend- 
ent of  the  restorations  of  the  gallery  of  Berlin,  M. 
Schlessinger,  finished  the  work  begun  by  Denon,  by 


LOMBARD   SCHOOL.  231 

giving  a  fresh  head  to  the  Leda,  less  beautiful  than 
that  of  To,  but  made  in  accordance  with  the  remainder 
of  the  picture  by  .the  rather  childish  precaution  of 
imitating  even  to  the  cracks,  which  three  centuries 
and  so  many  vicissitudes  had  left  in  the  painting  of 
Correggio.  A  copy  of  the  lo  had  been  before  made 
by  the  French  painter  Lemoine,  and  bought  by  Did- 
erot for  Catherine  the  Great.  "  It  is  the  best  I  could 
do,"  wrote  he  to  the  sculptor  Falconet,  "  the  original 
having  been  cut  in  pieces  by  that  imbecile,  barbarous 
Goth,  Vandal,  duke  of  Orleans." 

Dresden,  as  we  have  already  said,  possesses  the 
finest  of  Raphael's  works  to  be  found  in  the  north  of 
Europe.  In  Dresden  also  we  shall  find  no  less  than 
six  original  paintings  by  Correggio,  and  no  other 
city,  whether  Paris,  London,  Madrid,  Naples,  Flor- 
ence, or  Parma,  can  show  a  grander  or  more  complete 
selection.  Dresden  has  certainly  the  richest  collec- 
tion of  his  works,  so  rare  when  we  reject  the  spurious. 
These  six  paintings  were  placed  in  the  Saxon  museum, 
when  the  Elector-King  Augustus  III.,  in  1746,  bought 
the  collection  of  the  Dukes  of  Modena,  for  the  mod- 
erate sum  of  120,000  Dialers  (18,000/.).  From  Venice 
he  had  already  acquired,  for  the  sum  of  28,000  Ven- 
etian lire,  the  Madonna  of  Holbein,  from  the  Delfino 
family  ;  then  in  1755  he  paid  40,000  Roman  scudi  to 
the  convent  of  San  Sisto  at  Placentia  for  the  Madon- 
na, of  Raphael.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  embarrassed 
in  his  unfortunate  quarrels  with  Frederick  the  Great, 
who  twice  seized  upon  his  hereditary  estates,  this 


232  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN  ART. 

prince  was  severely  blamed  during  his  lifetime,  for 
having  taken  from  his  exhausted  treasury  the  three 
or  four  hundred  thousand  crowns  wjiich  procured  all 
the  wonders  of  the  Dresden  gallery.  But  in  the  pres- 
ent day,  who  would  dream  of  urging  this  as  a  re- 
proach 2  who  would  not  rather  in  the  name  of  art 
thank  him  whose  memory  is  so  little  honored  for  his 
political  acts.  A  bad  sovereign,  a  bad  general,  des- 
pised equally  by  both  the  nations  who  obeyed  him, 
the  reputation  of  Augustus  is  only  sustained  by  the 
works  of  those  great  artists  whom  he  appreciated 
during  a  time  of  universal  decay.  What  would  an- 
other million  of  francs  in  his  treasury,  or  another 
regiment  in  his  army  have  done,  towards  changing 
the  course  of  events  brought  on  by  war  and  diplo- 
macy ?  While  the  having  merely  bought  some  of  the 
works  of  the  greatest  artists,  gives  him  a  greater  glory 
than  that  of  a  conqueror — the  glory  of  a  Founder. 
He  formed  the  tirst  museum  in  Europe,  a  museum 
which  is  and  will  ever  be  the  pride  and  advantage  of 
his  little  capital.  Et  nunc,  reges,  intelligite. 

Among  these  six  paintings  by  Correggio  there  is 
the  portrait  of  a  man  dressed  in  black,  who  is  be- 
lieved to  have  been  the  physician  of  the  artist,  some 
village  friend  who  did  not  preserve  his  illustrious 
patient  from  a  sudden  and  miserable  death.  A  por- 
trait by  Correggio  is  a  very  precious  thing,  even  were 
it  merely  on  account  of  its  extreme  rarity.  I  can 
only  remember  indeed  one  other  portrait  attributed 
to  Correggio,  that  of  the  sculptor  Baccio  Bandinelli, 


LOMBARD   SCHOOL.  233 

which  is  at  Hampton  Court,  and  of  which  the  au- 
thenticity is  very  doubtful.  The  portrait  at  Dresden 
is  excellent.  « 

If,  in  this  unique  collection,  we  pass  from  the 
smaller  works  to  those  more  important,  we  shall  no- 
tice after  the  portrait  of  the  physician  the  Reading 
Magdalen.  This  is  painted  on  copper  and  is  not 
more  than  a  foot  square,  and  yet  it  is  everywhere 
known  by  copies  and  engravings,  and  this  little  Mag- 
dalen equals  the  largest  pictures  in  celebrity.  Is  there 
any  occasion  to  describe  it,  to  say  that  the  penitent, 
lying  on  the  thick  grass  of  the  desert,  with  her  bosom 
half  veiled  by  the  long  curls  of  her  hair,  is  supporting 
her  head  with  her  right  hand,  in  order  to  read  in  a 
book  she  holds  on  the  ground  with  her  left  hand  ? 
The  charm  of  this  graceful  attitude,  the  profound  at- 
tention of  this  converted  sinner,  her  grace,  her  beauty, 
the  boldness  and  happy  effect  of  her  blue  drapery  con- 
trasted with  the  dark  green  of  the  landscape,  the  won- 
derful delicacy  of  the  execution  and  of  the  colors,  all 
place  this  Magdalen  in  the  first  rank  of  what  are  call- 
ed the  Small  Correggios,  before  the  Holy  Family  of 
London,  the  Madonna  with  the  Veil  at  Florence,  and 
even  before  the  Hagar  of  Naples.  It  was  stolen  in 
1788,  but  the  thief  restored  it  in  order  to  get  the  re- 
ward of  a  thousand  ducats  promised  to  whomever 
should  bring  it  back. 

The  four  other  works  are  Great  Correggios,  and  in- 
deed the  greatest  of  his  to  be  found  after  the  frescoes 
of  San  Giovanni  and  of  the  Duomo  of  Parma.  Three 


234:  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

of  them  are  Madonnas,  which  only  differ  in  the  ar- 
rangement and  surrounding  figures,  the  other  is  a  Na- 
tivity. In  order  to  distinguish  between  these  Madon- 
nas each  has  been  named  after  the  most  conspicuous 
saint  in  its  little  court,  as  the  other  Madonna,  which 
with  the  Madonna  della  Scodella,  make  the  pride  of 
the  small  museum  of  Parma,  has  been  named  San 
Girolamo  (St.  Jerome).  A.t  Dresden,  one  is  called  St. 
George,  another  St.  Sebastian,  and  another  St. 
Francis.  As  for  the  Nativity,  which  was  originally 
destined  for  the  town  of  Reggio,  it  is  usually  called  la 
Notte  di  Corregglo. 

If  I  dared  to  place  these  four  celebrated  and  mag- 
nificent compositions  in  order  of  merit,  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  following  the  progressive  order  already  com- 
menced, I  should  mention  first  the  St.  George,  that  is 
to  say  the  Madonna  enthroned,  worshipped  by  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  St.  Peter  of  Yerona,  St.  Geminiauus, 
near  to  whom  an  angel  is  holding  a  model  of  the 
church  he  had  built  at  Modena  and  dedicated  to  the 
Virgin,  and  lastly  the  martyr  prince  of  Cappadocia, 
the  slayer  of  the  dragon,  the  Christian  Perseus,  whose 
arms  are  borne  by  four  angels.  If  the  composition  of 
this  picture  is  not  inferior  to  that  of  the  others,  if  the 
painting  is  no  less  elaborate,  fine,  and  rich  in  half 
tints,  yet  it  is,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  almost  too  bril- 
liant ;  and  the  general  tints,  very  striking  but  rather 
crude,  give  it  the  appearance  of  a  fresco.  From  his 
having  destined  this  painting  to  be  viewed  at  a  con- 
siderable elevation,  Correggio  evidently  intended  to 


LOMBARD    SCHOOL,.  235 

make  it  a  mural  picture.  It  would  indeed  be  much 
better  placed  over  tbe  high  altar  of  a  cathedral  tban 
in  the  panel  of  a. gallery.  In  the  St.  Sebastian,  the 
Yirgin  is  in  the  midst  of  what  is  termed  a  glory,  sur- 
rounded by  a  choir  of  celestial  spirits.  Three  saints 
worship  her  on  the  earth ;  in  the  centre  the  bishop  St. 
Geminianus,  once  more  with  the  model  of  his  church  ; 
to  the  right  St.  Roch,  dying  of  the  plague,  like  the 
poor  wretches  he  had  tended  at  Placenta  a  ;  and  to  the 
left  the  warrior-saint  of  Narbonne,  fastened  to  the 
trunk  of  a  tree  and  pierced  with  arrows.  Although 
we  must  regret  a  little  confusion  in  certain  parts,  the 
whole  picture  is  wonderfully  grouped,  and  the  color- 
ing, which  is  very  delicate,  is  no  less  distinguished  for 
its  vigorous  effects  of  chiaroscuro.  The  largest  of  the 
four  pictures  is  that  which  is  named  after  St.  Francis. 
At  the  foot  of  the  throne  on  which  Mary  is  seated, 
holding  the  Holy  Child  on  her  knees,  the  devotee  of 
Assisi  has  prostrated  himself  in  adoration,  whilst  the 
Virgin"  appears  in  the  act  of  blessing  him.  Behind 
him  is  his  disciple  St.  Antony  of  Padua,  holding  a  lily 
in  his  hand  ;  opposite  is  St.  Catherine,  bearing  a  sword 
and  a  palm  branch;  while  John  the  Baptist,  still 
naked  and  wild  as  in  the  desert,  points  with  his  tinger 
to  Him  whom  he  had  announced  to  the  world  as  the 
Saviour  come  to  redeem  mankind  from  the  sin  of  our 
tirst  parents,  whose  history  and  fall  are  tracad  on  the 
pedestal  of  the  throne.  It  would  be  quite  superfluous 
to  say  that  this  powerful  composition,  as  well  known 
through  engravings  as  the  Magdalen,  is  in  the  noblest, 


236  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

strongest,  and  grandest  style,  that  in  its  arrangement  it 
reminds  us  of  the  simple  and  sublime  manner  of  Fra 
Bartolommeo ;  but  it  should  be  added,  for  those  who 
have  not  seen  the  original,  that  what  here  raises  Cor- 
reggio  above  the  illustrious  Florentine  monk,  and  even 
above  himself,  is  the  coloring,  the  marvellous  work  of 
the  pencil.  The  great  artist,  at  that  time  unknown, 
who  had  said  before  Raphael's  St.  Cecilia,  Edio  anche 
son  pittore,  was  so  satisfied  with  his  work,  that  this 
was  the  only  picture  under  which  he  inscribed  the 
name  "  Antonius  de  Allegris"  (Antonio  Allegri),  which 
fame  has  since  replaced  by  that  of  the  town  which 
boasts  the  honor  of  his  birth. 

And  yet  the  Notte  of  Correggio  surpasses  even  the 
St.  Francis  in  public  opinion.  Many  place  this  com- 
position above  all  those  to  be  found  in  Europe,  and 
proclaim  it  the  artist's  masterpiece.  We  may  say,  at 
all  events,  that  it  yields  to  no  other  in  style.  Yet 
perhaps  Correggio  might  be  reproached,  in  the  con- 
ception of  this  picture,  with  a  sort  of  overcarefulness 
which  is  almost  puerile,  and  which  would  fitly  have 
been  left  to  the  Flemings,  less  anxious  about  moral 
beauty  than  a  picturesque  effect.  We  see  here  the 
manger  in  which  the  Holy  Infant  was  laicl :  it  is  night, 
and  the  scene  is  only  rendered  visible  by  a  supernatural 
light,  which  spreads  from  the  body  of  the  Child  lying 
on  the  straw.  This  light  illumines  the  face  of  the 
Virgin  Mother,  as  she  bends  over  lier  first-born,  and 
dazzles  a  shepherdess  who  has  hastened  in  on  hearing 
of  the  "glad  tidings."  It  extends,to  Joseph,  who  is 


LOMBARD    SCHOOL.  237 

seen  leading  the  ass  to  the  back  of  the  stable ;  it  also 
lights  up  the  angels  hovering  in  the  air,  who  "  seem 
rather,"  as  Yasari  says,"  to  have  descended  from  heav- 
en than  to  have  been  created  by  the  hand  of  man." 
But  it  is  not  in  the  style  of  Honthorst  or  Schalcken 
that  Correggio  has  employed  this  light.  With  them 
it  would  have  been  the  principal  fact,  and  all  the  fig- 
ures grouped  around  the  Child,  the  Virgin  Mother, 
Joseph,  shepherds,  angels,  ass  and  ox,  would  only  have 
served  to  throw  it  into  relief.  With  Correggio  it  is 
only  an  accessory,  which  while  concurring  in  the  pic- 
turesque effect,  so  dear  to  the  Flemings,  is  in  no  way 
injurious  to  the  superior  and  moral  qualities  which  the 
great  Italian  style  requires.  Is  Mary  less  tender,  less 
full  of  love,  of  faith  and  adoration,  because  her  face  is 
lighted  up  by  its  rays  ?  Has  the  scene  less  movement, 
nobility,  greatness,  and  holy  majesty,  because  instead 
of  receiving  the  light  of  the  sun  from  above  it  is  group- 
ed around  a  radiant  centre  ?  It  is  the  example,  the 
triumph  of  art,  understood  and  practised,  endeavoring 
to  extend  its  power  beyond  the  eyes  to  the  soul,  and 
which  makes  effect  subordinate  to  the  ideal,  and  mat-, 
ter  to  mind. 

Correggio  left  many  imitators,  beginning  with  Bar- 
occio,  who  soon  fell  from  grace  to  affectation  ;  but  few 
direct  pupils  formed  by  his  lessons.  We  can  scarcely 
name  more  than  Parmegiano  (Francesco  Mazzuola, 
1503-1540),  that  brilliant  and  precocious  artist,  who, 
according  to  Yasari,  "  had  rather  the  face  of  an  angel 
than  that  of  a  man ;"  and  who.  on  his  return  to  Parma 


238  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

after  having  studied  at  .Rome,  ended  by  gliding  also 
into  mannerism,  then  abandoned  painting  for  alchemy, 
and  died  half  mad.  London  has  obtained  his  Vision 
of  St.  Jerome.  This  picture  was  painted  in  1527  for 
the  chapel  of  the  Butfalini  family,  at  Citta  di  Oastello, 
a  chapel  which  was  destroyed  by  an  earthquake  in 
1790  ;  it  was  rescued  from  under  the  ruins,  and  has 
since  passed  from  hand  to  hand  until  it  has  come 
to  the  National  Gallery.  It  is  said  (for  pictures 
have  legends  attached  to  them)  that  in  the  taking  and 
pillage  of  Rome,  the  soldiers  of  Charles  Y.,  struck 
with  admiration  at  the  sight  of  this  painting,  respected 
both  the  artist  and  his  dwelling.  Without  denying  in 
any  way  this  wonder,  or  contesting  that  the  work  pos- 
sesses many  admirable  qualities,  I  must  say  that  this 
painting  is  one  of  those  destined  to  eccupy  a  particular 
place,  to  have  always  the  same  light  on  it,  and  to  be 
seen  from  one  particular  point  of  view,  like  a  fresco, 
and  it  loses  much  from  having  been  removed.  The 
long  figures,  according  to  the  usual  detect  of  Parme- 
giano,  crowded  into  a  narrow  frame,  and  executed  with 
hard  and  dry  vigor,  which  does  not  remind  us  in  any 
way  of  his  master  nor  of  his  school,  prove  sufficiently 
that  the  picture  should  be  seen  from  below,  and  from 
a  distance.  By  placing  it  on  a  level  with  the  eye,  and 
almost  within  reach  of  the  hand,  the  whole  effect  is 
destroyed.  Parmegiano  has,  however,  left  the  greater 
number  of  his  works  at  Naples.  There  are  seven  or 
eight  in  the  Studi,  amongst  others  one  of  Luoretia 
stabbing  herself,  which  no  other  of  his  pictures  surpas- 
ses, or  perhaps  even  equals.  Amongst  his  portraits 


LOMBARD    SCHOOL.  239 

there  is  one  of  the  Florentine,  Amerigo  Yespucci,  who 
has  given  his  name  to  the  new  world,  and  another  is 
that  of  a  man  who  is  still  young,  of  a  tine  and  resolute 
countenance,  who  is  believed  to  be  the  Geonese  sailor 
who  discovered  it,  Christopher  Columbus.  Tin's  is  at 
least  the  opinion  of  the  .Neapolitans,  but  it  seems  to 
me  a  manifest  error.  The  portraits  of  the  great  nav- 
igator in  Spain,  which  are  more  authentic,  are  not  at 
all  like  that  in  the  museum  of  Naples,  and  besides,  it 
is  still  more  strongly  disproved  by  dates.  It  is  certain 
that  Parmegiano,  born  in  1503,  could  not  have  known 
Christopher  Columbus,  who,  about  the  year  1480,  left 
his  native  country  for  ever,  to  offer  his  services  first  to 
Portugal  aud  then  to  Spain. 

Amongst  the  artists  born  in  the  north  of  Italy,  there 
is  one  who  cannot  be  passed  over  in  silence,  but  whom 
it  is  difficult  to  class  in  any  particular  school,  on  ac- 
count of  his  originality.  This  is  Caravaggio  (Michael 
Angelo  Amerighi  da  Caravaggio,  1569-1609).  A 
Lombard  by  birth,  not  by  taste,  and  having  studied 
(not  under  masters,  for  he  would  have  none)  in  the 
Yenetian  and  Bolognese  schools,  between  which  he 
stands  midway,  leading  afterwards  a  wandering  and 
vagabond  life,  to  which  his  brutal  and  tierce  character 
condemned  him,  Caravaggio  formed  a  style  peculiar 
to  himself,  which  was  continued  by  the  Spaniard, 
Ribera,  the  Frenchman,  Yalentin,  and  the  Italian, 
Manfred i.  The  Descent  from  the  Cross,  by  Caravag- 
gio, which  is  usually  considered  his  masterpiece,  and 
in  which  there  is  seen,  if  not  the  absence  of  his  usual 


240  WONDEK8    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

defects,  at  least  a  union  of  his  most  eminent  qualities, 
is  in  the  Vatican  at  Korne.  The  heads  are  all  ignoble  ; 
never  did  he  cany  further  the  worship  of  the  real  and 
the  repulsive,  which  he  had  adopted  in  opposition  to 
the  false  and  mannered  style  of  Josepin,  a  painter 
whom  he  held  in  especial  contempt.  As  to  the  men 
who  are  taking  the  body  of  our  Lord  down  from  the 
cross,  their  vulgar  coarseness  might  have  formed  a 
contrast  to  the  noble  beauty  of  Jesus  and  Mary.  But 
tbe  Saviour  himself  and  His  Virgin  Mother  are  no  bet- 
ter treated  ;  it  might  almost  be  said  that  Caravaggio 
was  of  the  school  of  those  Christian  painters  of  the 
fourth  century  already  referred  to,  who  followed  the 
tradition  of  St.  Cyril  and  some  others  among  the  early 
fathers,  that  our  blessed  Lord  was  the  least  beautiful 
among  the  sons  of  men. 

The  same  may  be  said  of  one  of  his  choicest 
works,  now  in  the  Louvre,  the  Death  of  the  Virgin* 
which  he  painted  for  a  church  in  Rome,  that  called 
della  Scala  in  Trastevere.  We  notice  in  it,  at  the 
first  glance,  the  absence  of  all  religious  feeling,  and 
even  of  worldly  nobility  ;  and  still  more  the  absence 
of  traditional  characters  common  to  all  sacred  sub- 
jects. Who  is  it  lying  on  that  couch,  breathing  her 
last  sigh  ?  Is  it  the  mother  of  Christ  in  the  midst  of 
His  Apostles,  or  is  it  not  rather  an  old  gipsy  among 
a  number  of  the  men  of  her  tribe,  dressed  in  ridicu- 
lous finery  ?  It  is  the  same  with  the  Judith  at  Naples, 
which  may  yet  be  considered  one  of  his  most  vigor- 
ous and  energetic  works.  How  can  we  recognize  the 


LOMBAKD    SCHOOL.  241 

timid  and  virtuous  widow,  who  to  save  her  people 
resolves  to  commit  a  double  crime,  in  that  infuriated 
woman  who  is  cutting  the  throat  of  Holofernes  as 
a  butcher  slaughters  a  sheep  ?  This  is  a  common  de- 
fect with  Caravaggio,  and  one  that  is  shared  by  many 
other  painters,  even  of  our  own  time,  this  contradic- 
tion between  the  title  of  a  picture  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  rendered.  It  would  be  better  to  take 
away  the  name  and  leave  only  the  action  represent- 
ed ;  Judith  would  then  be  a  courtesan  assassinating  her 
lover  in  order  to  rob  him.  Reduced  to  that  ignoble 
subject,  the  picture  would  be  irreproachable. 

Caravaggio.  indeed,  when  he  is  on  his  own  ground 
is  an  eminent  artist.  He  appears  thus  at  the  Louvre, 
in  his  Fortune-teller^  and  in  the  excellent  portrait  of 
a  Grand-master  of  Malta  in  his  armor;  he  is  also 
seen  to  be  a  great  artist  at  Rome  in  the  picture  of 
the  Gamesters,  in  which  a  young  gentleman  is  seen 
robbed  by  two  swindlers  ;  and  at  Vienna  (in  the 
Lichtenstein  Gallery),  in  the  portrait  of  a  young  girl 
playing  on  the  lute.  This  is  an  extraordinary  work, 
for,  laying  aside  his  habitual  exaggeration,  his  in- 
clination to  the  ugly  and  strange,  the  master  here 
shines  in  truth,  grace,  nobility,  and  beauty.  Ca- 
ravaggio was  a  mason,  who  became  a  painter  by 
seeing  frescoes  painted  on  the  moist  plaster  he  had 
laid  on  the  walls  ;  he  was  a  painter  \vho  remained  a 
mason,  rough,  unlettered,  professing  to  despise  anti- 
quity, and  scoffing  at  Raphael  and  Correggio ;  wishing 
for  no  other  model  than  nature,  he  studied  common- 
16 


24:2  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

place  and  low  nature ;  yet  in  his  fiery  execution  he 
attained  a  degree  of  energy,  power,  and  truth,  the 
only  defect  of  which  is  probably  their  own  excess. 


VENETIAN  SCHOOL. 

If  we  were  here  speaking  of  every  branch  of  art, 
it  would  be  necessary  to  notice  that  the  wonderful 
and  unique  city  of  Yenice  is  a  perfect  museum  of 
architecture.  The  Spaniards  call  Cadiz  u  the  Stone 
Ship,"  because — built  on  a  little  island  of  sand,  in  the 
midst  of  the  sea,  and  resting  on  the  waters  like  the 
nest  of  the  halcyon — the  waves  of  the  ocean  are 
always  beating  against  its  strong  walls.  Venice, 
"  the  town  which  though  flooded  utters  no  cry  for 
help" — Venice,  composed  of  a  multitude  of  small 
islands  crowded  together,  and  whose  streets  are 
narrow  arms  of  the  sea  which  wind  through  the  midst 
of  dwellings,  deserves  the  appellation  of  a  Fleet  of 
Stone.  And  these  streets,  without  noise,  without 
dirt  or  dust — these  canals,  in  fact,  are  like  the  gal- 
leries of  an  architectural  museum  ;  whilst  the  fronts 
of  the  palaces  are  like  so  many  pictures,  on  which  the 
spectator  can  gaze  on  either  side,  whilst  passing  at 
his  ease  in  his  gondola.  But  it  is  with  only  'one  of 
the  three  arts  of  design  that  we  have  to  do  here. 

After  the  general  glance  that  we  have  taken  in  the 
preceding  chapters,  at  the  origin  of  painting  in  Italy 
till  the  time  of  the  Renaissance,  and  the  formation  of 
the  different  schools,  we  shall  not  have  to  go  back 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  243 

very  far  in  the  history,  of  the  one  of  which  we  are 
now  speaking.  We  have  already  spoken  of  the  old 
Mosaics  of  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  centuries  which 
succeeded  in  turning  Venice  into  an  oriental  and 
Byzantine  town.  It  will  be  sufficient  now  to  men- 
tion, among  the  greatest  curiosities  of  the  school,  the 
attempts  of  old  Bartolommeo  Yivarini,  and  the  more 
advanced  works  of  his  son  and  grandson,  Luigi  Viva- 
rini  the  elder  and  the  younger ;  also  some  of  the  im- 
mense pictures  called  ancona  (which  combine  several 
subjects  in  their  different  compartments),  the  best- 
known  painters  of  which  are  Lorenzo  Yeneziano  and 
Nicolo  Semitecolo;  and  lastly,  some  important  works 
of  the  brothers  Giovanni  and  Antonio  de  Murano, 
who  always  worked  together. 

There  are  two  other  brothers,  the  Bellini,  who 
head  the  period  of  the  rich  and  fertile  Venetian 
School.  Yet  the  elder  of  the  two,  Gentile  Bellini 
(1421-1507),  was  a  solitary  painter,  a  traveller,  who, 
strictly  speaking,  had  no  pupils,  and  who  did  not 
make  art  his  profession.  He  even  limited  himself  to 
anecdotal  painting,  a  kind  for  which  his  travels 
afforded  him  ample  material.  It  is  known  that  he 
passed  several  years  of  his  life  at  Constantinople, 
whither,  in  spite  of  the  curse  of  the  Prophet  against 
every  image  of  a  living  person,  he  had  been  called 
after  the  conquest  by  Mahomet  II.,  who  employed 
him  in  numerous  works.  They  say  that  it  was  to 
him  the  alarming  adventure  occurred  of  seeing  a 
slave  decapitated  at  the  order  of  the  sultan,  who  wish- 


244  WOA'DKRS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

ed  to  show  the  painter,  from  nature,  the  movement 
of  the  muscles  of  the  neck  upon  the  head  being  cut 
off.  There  is,  at  the  Louvre,  a  most  curious  work  by 
Gentile  Bellini,  the  Reception  of  a  Venetian  Am- 
bassador at  Constantinople,  which  represents,  with 
scrupulous  fidelity  and  remarkable  talent,  the  scenes, 
costumes,  and  manners,  in  the  new  capital  of  the 
Ottomans.  Two  compositions  of  the  same  kind  have 
also  been  secured  by  the  museum  at  Venice.  These 
are  of  two  miracles,  in  which,  by  means  ot  the  relics 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  he  had  been  preserved  during  the 
course  of  his  life  ;  the  one  on  the  square  of  St.  Mark, 
the  other  on  the  Great  Canal.  Gentile,  who  was 
born  in  1421,  was  very  old  when  he  painted  them, 
yet  they  are  as  interesting  for  the  manner  in  which 
they  are  executed  as  for  their  subject.  They  are  still 
true  pages  of  history,  and  serve  as  records  of  his  time. 
After  Gentile  Bellini  may  be  placed  Yittore  Car- 
paccio,  (from  about  1455  to  about  1525),  who  appears 
to  have  been  his  disciple,  and  who  reminds  us,  by  his 
simple  grace,  his  delicate  touch,  and  his  poetic  feel- 
ing, both  of  Fra  Angelico  of  the  Italians,  and  of 
Hemling  of  the  Flemings.  He  is  not  well  known, 
except  in  his  own  country,  to  which  he  seems  to  have 
bequeathed  all  his  works.  Amongst  these  are  nine 
great  pictures  which  depict  the  legend  of  St.  Ursula 
and  her  Companions,  from  the  arrival  of  the  King 
of  England's  ambassadors  to  demand  for  his  son  the 
hand  of  the  young  and  noble  maiden  of  Cologne,  to 
the  apotheosis  of  the  eleven  thousand  virgins.  There 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  245 

is  plenty  of  imagination  in  this  painting,  and  also 
clearness  and  order.  Another  is  on  the  legend  of 
The  Execution  of  ten  thousand  Martyrs  crucified  on 
Mount  Ararat,  for  Oarpaccio  we  may  see  was  not 
afraid  to  handle  vast  subjects  or  to  introduce  his  per- 
sonages by  thousands.  Lastly,  there  is  a  Presentation 
of  Jesus  in  the  Temple,  in  which  the  old  Simeon  is 
singing  his  canticle  between  two  cardinals.  This  is 
a  work  full  at  once  of  grace  and  vigor;  and, .but  for 
some  stiffness  of  outline,  would  deserve  to  be  com- 
pared with  the  most  beautiful  works  of  the  school. 

Not  to  interrupt  the  series  of  true  Venetians,  I 
shall  mention,  after  Carpaccio,  another  painter  of  the 
same  period,  who,  though  he  ought,  by  his  birth  and 
his  studies,  to  have  belonged  to  Venice,  remained  a 
Lombard  both  in  style  and  execution.  This  was 
Giambattista  Cima  da  Conegliano  (from  about  1460 
to  about  1518).  Referring  to  the  name  of  his  native 
town,  he  used  to  put  a  rabbit  (coniglio)  in  some 
corner  of  his  paintings.  It  was  his  signature,  as 
Garofalo's  was  a  pink.  A  sense  of  youthful  freshness 
in  his  compositions,  an  almost  childish  symmetry,  a 
studied  correctness  of  drawing,  a  natural  nobility  in 
his  heads  (too  small,  however,  generally  for  the  length 
of  the  body),  have  given  him  the  name  of  the  Masac- 
cio  of  Venetian  art.  A  glorified  Virgin  called  the  Ma- 
donna with  Six  Saints,  a  representation  of  the  legend 
of  St.  Thomas  Touching  the  Sick,  are  still  at  Venice, 
to  testify  to  his  merits.  But  they  may  be  recognized 
even  at  the  Louvre  in  another  picture  of  the  Virgin, 


246  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   AKT. 

to  whom  Mary  Magdalen  is  offering  a  vase  of  per- 
fume. The  rocky  landscape  which  forms  the  back- 
ground is  a  view  of  the  country  of  Conegliano. 

The  true  Yenetian  school  begins  with  Giovanni 
Bellini  (1426-1516).  He  had  received  his  first  lessons 
from  his  father,  Jacopo  Bellini,  a  disciple  of  old  Gen- 
tile da  Fabriano,  surnamed  Magizter  magistrorum  / 
but,  according  to  Borghini  and  Ridolfi,  he  discovered 
the  secret  of  oil-painting  by  obtaining  admittance, 
under  the  disguise  of  a  patrician,  to  the  studio  of  An- 
tonello  of  Messina,  who  had  then  returned  from 
Flanders,  and  thus  seeing  him  prepare  his  colors. 
Giovanni  Bellini  was  in  his  youth  the  master  of  Car- 
paccio  and  Cima,  who  both  retained  his  earliest 
style ;  afterwards  in  his  maturity,  the  great  Vene- 
tians, Giorgione,  Titian,  and  Tintoretto  were  his 
pupils.  His  painting  is  correct  and  highly  finished. 
His  marvellous  patience  in  the  representation  of  the 
smallest  objects  strikes  one  as  much  as  the  purity  of 
his  taste  and  his  appreciation  of  the  beautiful.  A 
great  colorist  also,  though  somewhat  timid,  Bellini  is 
in  this  point  the  leader  of  the  school  which  followed 
him  ;  and  when  in  his  old  age  he  saw  the  beautiful 
effects  of  chiaroscuro  produced  by  Giorgione,  he 
learnt  himself  to  give  more  warmth  to  his  style  and 
greater  breadth  to  his  pencil.  He  became  the  pupil 
of  his  pupil  in  the  same  way  that  at  the  same  period 
Perugino  was  of  Raphael.  At  first  natural  and  simple 
like  his  predecessors,  Bellini's  style  afterwards  became 
more  skilful  and  bold  like  that  of  his  successors. 


VENETIAN   SCHOOL.  247 

"We  cannot  become  acquainted  with  the  eminent 
chief  of  this  school  at  Paris.  There  is  nothing  be- 
longing to  him  at  the  Louvre,  not  even  his  portrait, 
because  the  two  young  men  placed  opposite  each 
other  in  the  same  frame,  which  are  assumed  to  be  the 
portraits  of  the  Bellini,  taken  by  the  younger,  are 
evidently  wrongly  named.  The  youthfulness  of  the 
portraits  is  in  manifest  contradiction  to  the  style  and 
touch  which  would  belong  to  the  old  age  of  the 
painter.  Venice,  happily,  has  collected  several  of 
the  most  beautiful  works  of  Bellini.  Besides  a  good 
many  pictures  which  have  remained  in  the  churches, 
and  are  for  the  greater  part  much  defaced,  the  Acad- 
emy of  Fine  Arts  possesses  five.  All  are  uniformly 
glorified  Madonnas.  One  is  called  the  Madonna 
with  Four  Saints,  another,  the  Madonna  with  Six 
Saints,  like  that  of  Cima  da  Conegliano.  There, 
amidst  five  Christian  saints,  we  see  the  old  patriarch 
Job,  the  painting  having  been  originally  executed  for 
the  now  suppressed  church  of  San  Giobbe.  It  is  a 
magnificent  composition,  worthy,  from  its  noble  style 
and  beautiful  execution,  to  be  placed  in  the  first  rank 
of  Bellini's  works.  "  It  is  remarkable,"  M.  Charles 
Blanc  says,  "  that  in  spite  of  the  rich,  intense,  and 
varied  coloring  of  this  picture,  it  yet  appeals  to  our 
heart  rather  than  to  our  eye.  Its  soft  murmur 
soothes  us  in  the  midst  of  the  uproar  of  the  Venetian 
school." 

Bellini  has  painted  none  but  religious  pictures ; 
indeed,  almost  exclusively  Madonnas, — from  the  one 


248  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

who  holds  the  Child  to  her  bosom,  to  that  in  which 
she  bears  on  her  knee  the  body  of  her  dead  Son,  and 
at  last  shares  in  heaven  the  glory  of  the  three  persons 
of  the  Holy  Trinity.  One  of  these  Madonnas  is  pos- 
sessed by  the  infant  museum  of  Leipsic.  The  Studi 
of  Naples,  however,  can  boast  of  a  Transfiguration, 
which  is  an  excellent  as  well  as  curious  painting. 
This  Transfiguration,  in  imitation  of  Giotto,  only 
represents  the  principal  episode,  Jesus  between  Moses 
and  Elias,  rising  above  the  group  of  apostles.  But 
it  gave  to  Raphael  the  idea  of  treating  the  same  sub- 
ject in  vaster  proportions,  adding  the  people  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain,  the  child  possessed  with  a 
devil,  and  all  the  details  given  in  the  gospel  of  Saint 
Matthew.  The  two  portraits  by  Bellini,  belonging 
to  the  National  Gallery  in  London  and  the  Belvedere 
in  Vienna,  are  doubly  valuable  for  their  rarity.  The 
former  is  of  the  old  doge,  Leonardo  Loredano,  and  in 
it,  the  physical  decrepitude,  the  strong  mental  intel- 
ligence, and  inexorable  obstinacy,  of  the  founder  of 
the  State- Inquisition  are  admirably  depicted  ;  the  lat- 
ter is  the  portrait  of  a  young  girl  combing  her  hair 
before  a  mirror.  As  Loredano  was  only  elected  doge 
in  1501,  and  the  portrait  of  the  young  girl  bears  the 
signature,  Johannes  Bellinus,  faciebat  MDXV.,  the 
one  must  have  been  painted  when  Bellini  was  sev- 
enty-five, the  other  when  he  was  eighty-nine.  His 
was  a  laborious  old  age,  almost  as  astonishing  as  that 
of  Titian. 

If  his  master  and  his  fellow-students  lived  to  be 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  249 

venerable,  it  was  not  so  with  Giorgione  (Giorgio  Bar- 
barelli  di  Castelfranco,  1477-1511),  who  died  at  the 
age  of  thirtv-four,  of  grief,  it  is  said,  for  the  loss  of  a 
loved  mistress.  By  showing  the  secret  of  thick  lay- 
ers of  coloring,  by  throwing  out  bright  lights  by 
means  of  deep  shadows,  bright,  in  short,  by  all  the 
most  skilful  and  wonderful  effects  of  chiaroscuro, 
Giorgione  led  the  whole  Venetian  school  into  the 
worship  of  coloring.  He  became,  as  we  have  before 
said,  the  master  of  his  master,  he  was  also  that  of  his 
fellow-students.  Titian,  among  others,  only  surpassed 
him  because  he  outlived  him  by  more  than  sixty 
years.  It  was  of  Giorgione  that  the  president  de 
Brosses  said  with  justice  and  truth,  "  I  should  place 
him  as  a  colorist  in  the  same  rank  with  Michael  An- 
gelo  as  a  designer."  As  he  died  so  young,  and  had 
employed  himself  principally  in  painting  frescoes, 
either  for  the  palace  of  the  doges  or  for  the  facades 
of  edifices  since  destroyed  (amongst  others  the  Cham 
ber  of  Commerce,  called  Fondaco  de  Tedeschi),  Gior- 
gione has  left  but  few  works  of  the  easel  that  can  be 
strictly  termed  pictures.  Let  us  search  carefully  for 
these  all  over  Europe. 

The  churches  and  convents  of  Yen  ice,  so  numer- 
ous, and  so  rich  in  works  of  art,  do  not  possess  a  sin- 
gle one,  neither  does  the  ducal  palace.  The  Acad- 
emy of  Fine  Arts  has  only  succeeded  in  obtaining 
one  composition,  St.  Marie  appeasing  the  Tempest, 
and  only  one  portrait,  that  of  an  unknown  nobleman. 
In  his  own  city  we  can  best  become  acquainted  with 


250  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

Giorgione  at  the  Manfrini  palace,  which  possesses  the 
picture  called  The  Three  Portraits,  so  justly  cele- 
brated by  Lord  Byron.  Florence  has  fared  better. 
The  Uffizi  has  inherited  a  Moses,  a  Judgment  of 
Solomon*  and  a  Mystical  Allegory,  as  well  as  the  por- 
traits of  a  knight  of  Malta,  and  of  General  Gattame- 
lata,  both  of  marvellous  beauty  and  vigor.  The  Pitti 
palace  also  proudly  displays  a  Moses  saved  from  the 
Water,  a  Nymph  pursued  by  a  Satyr,  and  a  Musical 
Concert,  a  favorite  subject  of  this  master,  who  was 
an  excellent  musician,  and  sought  after  by  the  Yene- 
tian  nobility  both  as  a  singer  and  lute-player. 

But,  in  truth,  I  do  not  know  whether  Giorgione 
is  not  seen  to  greater  advantage  out  of  Italy  than 
even  at  Venice  or  Florence  itself.  In  Spain,  for  in- 
stance, he  can  be  much  better  understood  and  ad- 
mired. His  picture  of  David  killing  Goliath,  which 
has  been  conveyed  to  the  Museo  del  Rey,  exhibits 
that  boldness  and  ease  so  entirely  Yenetian,  of  which 
he  had  given  the  first  example.  But  all  the  qualities 
of  this  great  master  are  still  more  brilliantly  shown 
in  a  picture  brought  from  the  Escurial,  to  which  we 
can  give  no  other  name  than  a  Family  Portrait.  In 
front  of  a  gentleman  in  complete  armor,  who  seems, 
like  Hector,  to  be  setting  out  for  the  war,  a  lady,  a 
second  Andromache,  tears  herself  from  the  caresses 
of  a  young  Astyanax,  to  replace  him  in  the  arms  of 
her  attendant.  This  is  the  whole  subject  of  the  pic- 
ture, and  the  half-length  figures  are  of  unknown  per- 
sons. But,  in  its  way,  it  is  a  perfect  and  astonishing 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  251 

work,  which  delights  and  at  the  same,  time  saddens 
us ;  for  in  this  magnificent  work,  the  last  expression 
of  the  artist's  genius,  we  read  what  Giorgione  might 
have  become,  and  to  what  height  his  glory  might 
have  reached,  if  he  had  had  the  time  to  be  as  fertile 
as  he  was  bold  and  powerful. 

There  are  only  two  specimens  of  his  best  style  at 
the  Louvre  :  one  is  of  a  subject  in  which  he  took  in- 
terest, because  he  was  not  less  celebrated  for  his 
musical  talents  and  amiable  disposition  than  for  his 
great  genius  as  a  painter  ;  it  is  called  A  Rural  Con- 
cert /  the  other  is  a  superb  Holy  Family,  called,  I 
believe,  a  Saint  Sebastian,  because  the  centre  group 
is  placed  between  this  young  martyr  and  a  Saint 
Catherine.  These  two  pictures  came,  after  passing 
through  the  galleries  of  the  dukes  of  Mantua  and  of 
Charles  I.,  by  Jabach  and  Mazarin,  to  the  cabinet  of 
Louis  XIV.  Although  they  cannot  be  placed  in  the 
first  rank  of  Giorgione's  works,  they  yet  present  fine 
examples  of  those  skilful  contrasts,  that  happy  blend- 
ing of  detail  in  the  general  effect,  that  delicacy  of 
tint,  and  that  powerful  coloring,  of  which  Giorgione 
had  the  honor  of  first  exhibiting  a  perfect  model.  In 
Germany  are  to  be  found  a  few  of  those  rare  works 
in  which  Giorgione  has  carried  to  its  extreme  limits 
the  knowledge  and  power  of  chiaroscuro.  One  of 
the  best  is  in  the  rich  gallery  at  Dresden,  the  Meet- 
ing of  Jacob  and  Rachel,  in  the  midst  of  their  ser- 
vants and  flocks.  The  Belvedere  at  Vienna,  with  the 
excellent  portrait  of  a  Knight  in  Armor,  the  Young 


252 


WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN  ART. 


Man  crowned  with  vine-leaves,  who  is  accosted  by  a 
bandit,  and  the  David  carrying  the  sword  of  Goliath, 
also  possesses  the  picture  known  by  the  name  of  the 
Three  Surveyors,  who  are,  rather,  three  astrologers. 
This  is  a  noble  and  spirited  composition,  possessing 


The  Looking-Glass. 
By  Titian. 

the  additional  merit  of  an  excellent  landscape,  quite 
a  rarity  then,  and,  indeed,  almost  a  novelty  in  Italy. 
Lastly,  Munich  possesses  the  splendid  portrait  of  the 
painter  by  himself.  Giorgiorie  has  a  large  head,  full 
of  strength  and  energy  ;  an  open,  noble,  and  intelli- 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  253 

gent  face,  and  looking  at  this  excellent  likeness  of  a 
man  so  richly  gifted,  one  can  almost  curse  the  fickle 
beauty  whose  desertion  killed  the  great  artist  in  the 
prime  of  life,  before  the  time  for  his  greatest  works. 

Giorgione  brings  us  to  Titian,  whom  he  had  a 
little  preceded,  not  in  his  life  (they  were  of  the  same 
age),  but  in  the  adoption,  I  may  say  the  invention, 
of  their  common  style.  Tiziano  Yecellio,  of  Cadore 
(1477-1576)  was,  it  is  said,  the  great-great-nephew  of 
the  bishop  of  Odezzo,  Saint  Titian.  He  came  while 
quite  young  to  the  studio  of  Bellini  in  Venice,  and 
passed  in  that  city  the  whole  of  his  long  patriarchal 
life,  dying  there  at  last  of  the  plague,  at  the  age  of 
ninety-nine.  As,  from  his  tenderest  infancy  to  his 
extreme  old  age,  he  possessed  a  delight  in  work,  and 
a  facility  in  execution,  and  also,  like  all  other  mas- 
ters, was  helped  in  his  larger  compositions  by  chosen 
pupils,  it  is  not  surprising  that  Titian  should  have 
left  an  immense  number  of  works,  or  that  every  col- 
lection in  Europe  should  have  gathered  some  frag- 
ments of  them.  This  ubiquity  in  a  painter,  if  one 
may  so  speak,  is  necessary  to  his  fame.  The  work 
of  a  musician  is  copied,  printed,  spread.  Mozart  had 
only  written  the  Don  Giovanni,  and  Rossini,  II 
Barbiere  di  Siviylia,  when  they  became  everywhere 
known  and  celebrated.  But  a  picture  can  only  be  in 
one  place,  and  can  only  be  seen  there.  Consequent- 
ly, for  his  celebrity  to  equal  his  merit,  a  painter  ought 
to  add  to  all  his  natural  or  acquired  qualities  that  of 
fertility. 


254  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   AJiT. 

Yenice  is  more  fortunate  with  regard  to  Titian 
than  to  Giorgione,  for  many  of  his  works  are  pre- 
served in  its  museum,  churches,  and  in  the  palaces 
of  its  doges  and  patricians.  I  have  counted  thirty- 
three  of  them,  amongst  which  are  several  of  the  most 
important  and  most  justly  famous.  At  the  Accade- 
mia  delle  Belle  Arti,  his  whole  history  is  written. 
There  are  the  first  trials  of  a  yet  uncertain  youth,  the 
last  occupations  of  an  old  age,  voluntarily  laborious, 
and  the  perfection  of  his  middle  age. 

A  Visitation  of  Saint  Elizabeth,  in  small  propor- 
tions, is  considered  the  earliest  existing  work  of  this 
great  man.  He  painted  this  somewhat  weak  picture 
when  scarcely  more  than  a  child,  hesitating  between 
the  imitation  of  his  master,  Giovanni  Bellini,  that  of 
some  Flemish  painters  lately  arrived  at  Yenice,  and 
the  new  style  of  his  fellow-student  Giorgione.  The 
forms  are  stiff  and  the  colors  tame,  but  one  can 
already  clearly  see  the  direction  in  which  his  natural 
inclinations  were  leading  him. 

His  last  work,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  Descent 
from  the  Cross,  which  death  prevented  his  finishing. 
On  examining  this  picture  closely,  we  can  see  all  the 
confused  and  heavy  work  of  a  trembling  hand  and. 
.dim  eye;  and  yet  at  a  little  distance  it  is  full  of 
effect,  force,  and  grandeur.  Some  parts  of  this  ven- 
erable Deposition  which  had  been  left  incomplete 
were  finished  by  the  elder  Palma,  according  to  the 
pious  inscription  traced  at  the  bottom :  Quod  Titia- 
nus  inchoatum  reliquit,  Palma  reverenter  absolvti, 
Deoque  dicavit  opus. 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  255 

The  two  large  compositions  at  the  Academy  of 
the  Fine  Arts  in  Venice,  representing  the  commence- 
ment and  the  close  of  the  History  of  the  Virgin  ;  her 
Presentation  in  the  Temple,  and  her  Assumption  to 
Heaven,  indicate  the  maturity  and  the  culminating 
point  of  the  genius  of  Titian.  The  first  is  u  singular 
imagination,  suggested  doubtless  by  tradition.  In  it 
are  seen  the  external  flight  of  stairs  leading  to  the 
vestibule  of  the  temple,  the  neighboring  houses,  the 
streets  in  perspective,  mountains  in  the  background, 
and  a  crowd  of  people.  Mary,  the  young  girl  who 
ascends  the  steps  alone,  is  the  least  part  of  the  pic- 
ture, which  is  none  the  less  an  admirable  specimen 
of  the  Venetian  style,  already  inclining  more  to  the 
real  than  to  the  ideal.  The  two  kinds  of  merit  in 
painting,  the  real  and  the  ideal,  which  ought  to  be 
inseparable,  are  seen  together  in  the  Assumption,  so 
widely  celebrated,  and  now  so  well  known  from  hav- 
ing been  reproduced  in  every  possible  method.  The 
remembrance  of  this  famous  composition  had  been  in 
some  way  lost,  till  happily  Cicognara  discovered  it, 
much  smoked,  on  a  high  wall  in  the  church  of  the 
Frari,  and  exchanged  it  for  a  new  picture.  Since 
this  discovery,  the  Assumption  has  been  considered 
Titian's  chef-d'oeuvre.  It  sealed  his  growing  reputa- 
tion, whether  he  painted  it,  according  to  some,  in 
1507,  at  the  very  time  that  Raphael  was  revealing 
himself  at  Rome  in  the  Dispute  of  the  Holy  Sacra- 
ment, or  according  to  others,  and  which  seems  to  me 
more  probable,  in  1516,  when  he  was  thirty-nine 


256  WONDEKS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

years  old.  It  is  indeed  useless  to  extol  its  various 
beauties,  to  attempt  to  describe  the  mysterious  majes- 
ty of  the  Eternal  Father,  the  dazzling  radiancy  of 
the  group  of  the  Virgin,  borne  by  thirty  little  angels, 
or  the  vigorous  reality  of  the  witnesses  of  the  mira- 
cle;  it  is  sufficient  to  say,  that  in  this  picture  Titian 
fully  merits  the  name  given  him  by  his  biographers 
and  admirers,  of  the  greatest  colorist  of  Italy  ;  and  I 
may  add,  that  if  he  cannot  quite  be  called  the  great- 
est colorist  in  the  world,  at  least  there  are  none  to 
share  this  title  with  him  but  Rubens,  Velasquez,  and 
Rembrandt.  Titian  was,  in  the  Venetian  school, 
what  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  Michael  Angelo,  Raphael, 
and  Correggio  were  at  Milan,  Florence,  Rome,  and 
Parma.  "  He  absorbed  his  predecessors,  and  hope- 
lessly forestalled  his  successors,"  say  the  annotatora 
of  Vasari.  To  the  school  of  Bellini,  till  this  time 
kept  back  by  scruples  of  tradition  and  by  dread  of 
difficulties,  he  imparted  boldness  and  readiness,  in 
fact,  full  liberty  both  of  conception  and  of  execution. 
Another  of  the  great  chefs-d'oeuvre  of  Titian,  and 
we  might  almost  say  of  painting,  is  still*  at  Venice, 
in  the  church  of  Saint  John  and  Saint  Paul  (usually 
called  San  Zanipolo).  It  is  the  murder  of  Saint  Peter 
Martyr.  The  subject  of  this  vast  composition  is  the 
death  of  a  Dominican  monk  named  Pietro  di  Verona, 
who  was  assassinated  in  a  wood,  while  returning  with 

*  This  great  work  of  Titian  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1867.  A 
magnificent  Madonna  by  Bellini,  and  several  pictures  of  less  import- 
ance, perished  at  the  same  time. 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  257 

another  monk  from  some  council.  He  was  canonized, 
and  his  tragic  death  recorded  amongst  the  best  au- 
thenticated legends.  No  kind  of  honor  that  could 
have  been  paid  to  this  picture  has  been  wanting : 
first,  the  senate  of  Yenice  having  learnt  that  a  cer- 
tain Daniel  Nil  had  offered  to  pay  eighteen  thousand 
crowns  for  it  to  the  Dominican  possessors  of  the 
church  of  San  Zanipolo,  forbade  the  monks  by  a  spe- 
cial decree,  and  under  pain  of  death,  to  allow  it  to 
go  out  of  the  territory  of  the  republic ;  then  Do- 
menichino  made  a  copy  of  it,  which  in  spite  of  its 
eminent  beauties  has  not  attained  to  the  grandeur  of 
the  original ;  lastly,  it  was  brought  to  Paris  after  the 
conquest  of  Venice,  and  there,  like  the  Spasimo  of 
Raphael,  it  was  restored  to  all  its  beauty  by  being 
taken  off  the  worm-eaten  wood  and  placed  on  new 
and  durable  canvas.  All  these  honors  are  fully  justi- 
fied. The  mysterious  horrors  of  the  landscape ;  the 
terror  of  the  companion  flying  from  the  scene ;  the 
holy  resignation  of  the  martyr,  who,  falling  beneath 
the  knife,  sees  the  heavens  open  and  the  palms  of  vic- 
tory awaiting  him  ;  the  natural  and  skilful  arrange- 
ment of  the  scenery,  its  powerful  and  pathetic  effect, 
heightened  by  that  incomparable  vigor  of  coloring  to 
be  found  in  all  the  works  of  Titian,  all  concur  to 
make  this  picture  one  of  the  grandest  of  his  works, 
and  to  justify  Vasari  in  saying,  "  Titian  never  in  all 
his  life  produced  a  more  skilful  and  finished  work." 
He  might  have  added  that  it  was  probably  the  first 
perfect  execution  of  an  historical  landscape  in  which, 
17 


258  WONDEKS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

by  lowering  the  line  of  the  horizon,  by  giving  great- 
er depth  to  the  background,  and  accuracy  to  the  per- 
spective, the  painter  at  last  produced  a  real  view 
from  nature.  To  give  this  great  picture  its  right 
place  near  the  Assumption,  it  would  be  well  to  re- 
move it  from  San  Zanipolo  to  the  Academy  of  the 
Fine  Arts,  where  it  might  be  better  seen  and  better 
preserved.  Thither  also  ought  to  be  transferred  the 
well-known  painting  of  Christ  led  l)y  an  Executioner, 
so  much  admired  by  the  painter's  contemporaries, 
who  ordered  several  copies  of  it,  and  of  which  Yasari 
says  "  it  has  brought  more  alms  to  the  church  than 
the  painter  gained  money  in  the  whole  of  his  long 
life." 

Besides  those  in  the  museum  and  the  churches, 
paintings  by  Titian  may  be  found  in  some  of  the 
houses  of  the  ancient  nobility  of  Venice  ;  for  in- 
stance, in  the  palace  Barbarigo,  where  he  lived  many 
years,  and  died  of  the  plague  in  1576.  Although 
bands  of  robbers  despoiled  it  with  impunity  during 
his  last  moments,  and  his  unworthy  son,  the  priest 
Pomponio  Yecellio,  dissipated  his  heritage,  the  Bar- 
barigo palace  has  yet  preserved  three  of  his  pictures; 
the  Magdalen,  with  which  Titian  would  never  part, 
but  used  as  a  model  for  all  the  others,  and  of  which 
we  know  at  least  six  copies  ;  a  Venus,  which  has 
been  wilfully  spoilt  in  order  to  clothe  it ;  and  a  St. 
Sebastian,  which  he  was  sketching  when  death  over- 
took him  before  the  completion  of  his  hundredth 
year. 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  259 

The  paintings  of  Titian  are  to  be  found  in  every 
museum  and  gallery  of  importance  in  the  ancient 
states  of  Italy.  Florence,  especially,  in  spite  of  the 
richness  of  its  own  school,  has  collected  many  treas- 
ures of  the  great  Venetian.  At  the  gallery  of  the 
Uffizi,  in  the  Venetian  room,  are  two  Holy  Families, 
a  St.  Catherine  of  Alexandria,  under  the  features  of 
which  he  has  painted  the  beautiful  queen  of  Cyprus, 
Catarina  Cornaro ;  a  half-clothed  woman,  called 
Flora,  from  flowers  she  holds  in  her  hand  ;  and  a 
sketch  of  the  battle  of  Cadore,  between  the  troops 
of  the  Empire  and  those  of  the  Republic  ;  which  is 
all  the  more  precious,  as  the  picture  destined  for  the 
palace  of  the  doges,  for  which  this  was  prepared,  has 
perished  in  afire.  In  the  Tribune  are  the  two  cele- 
brated Venuses,  placed  opposite  to  each  other,  thus 
augmenting  the  value  of  each.  One,  which  is  a  little 
larger  than  nature,  and  behind  which  a  Cupid  is 
standing,  is  called,  perhaps  incorrectly,  the  wife  of 
Titian.  The  other,  supposed  to  represent  the  mistress 
of  a  duke  of  Urbino,  or  of  one  of  the  Medici,  is 
known  in  France  as  the  Venus  au petit  Cliien.  Both 
are  perfectly  nude,  but  neither  bold  nor  immodest ; 
they  preserve  as  much  decency  and  dignity  as  the 
Aphrodite  of  Greek  statuary.  Both  are  painted  with 
a  touch  vigorous,  delicate,  and  tender,  the  secret  of 
which  only  Titian,  the  great  painter  of  women,  seems 
to  have  discovered.  The  latter,  however,  superior  to 
the  other  in  delicacy  of  drawing,  in  the  charm  of  the 
attitude,  and  the  beauty  of  the  face,  in  which  a  sweet 


260  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   AET. 

voluptuousness  breathes,  enjoys  justly  the  greater 
fame.  The  artist  has  successfully  encountered  im- 
mense difficulties  in  painting  this  female  figure.  The 
whiteness  of  the  body  derives  its  only  coloring  from 
its  life ;  it  is  extended  on  white  drapery,  before  a 
light  and  luminous  background,  and  with  no  contrast 
or  set-off  around  it.  Titian  enjoyed  .such  a  difficulty, 
and  his  Venus  deserves  in  every  point  to  be  called  by 
Algarotti  the  rival  of  the  Venus  de  Medici.  Below 
it  is  an  excellent  and  magnificent  portrait  of  the  Car- 
dinal Beccadella,  which  Titian  painted  at  Venice  in 
1552,  when  the  prelate  came  there  as  papal  legate. 
The  artist  was  then  in  his  seventy-fifth  year ;  but  as 
he  painted  for  twenty  years  longer,  this  may  almost 
be  considered  a  work  of  his  youth. 

Among  the  thirteen  paintings  by  Titian  ill  the 
Pitti  palace,  1  prefer  to  mention  the  portraits,  for  cer- 
tainly no  other  collection  contains  so  great  a  number, 
nor  such  perfect  ones.  Several  also  are  celebrated 
through  the  name  of  the  person  represented  ;  there  is 
the  portrait  of  Andreas  Yesalius,  the  great  physician 
and  anatomist,  who,  like  Galileo,  was  persecuted  by 
superstition,  and  who  was  driven  to  the  Holy  Land 
to  die  of  hunger  ;  there  is  Philip  II.  of  Spain,  taken 
during  his  youth  ;  Pietro  Aretino,  the  dreaded  satiri- 
cal poet,  for  thirty  years  the  friend  and  counsellor  of 
the  artist,  who  was  perhaps  the  only  one  of  his  con- 
temporaries whose  love  for  the  poet  was  unmixed 
with  fear.  Others  on  the  contrary  are  valuable  less 
for  the  name  of  the  model  than  for  the  artist's  merits. 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  261 

Thus  to  show  the  greatest  height  to  which  art  can 
reach  in  the  simple  representation  of  the  human 
being,  in  the  expression  of  life,  it  is  sufficient  to  men- 
tion the  portrait  of  the  old  man,  Luigi  Cornaro,  or 
that  of  the  young  man  opposite  it,  whose  name,  I  be- 
lieve, is  not  known.  Certainly  illusion  could  be  car- 
ried no  further.  For  personal  grace  and  brilliant 
costume  we  must  mention  the  portrait  of  a  lady, 
called  that  of  the  mistress  of  the  painter.  Again, 
the  portrait  in  which  the  most  wonderful  effects  of 
light  and  shade  are  to  be  found,  is  the  portrait  of  the 
cardinal  Ippolito  di  Medici,  clothed  as  a  Hungarian 
magnate.  It  seems  to  me  that  nothing  can  be  found 
superior  to  these  four  portraits  in  the  whole  of  Titian's 
works,  and  in  this  style  Titian  has  never  been  sur- 
passed by  any  school  or  in  any  country.  Indeed,  the 
only  rivals  that  could  be  opposed  to  him  are  Raphael, 
Velasquez,  and  Rembrandt. 

Amongst  the  works  of  Titian  that  have  remained 
in  Rome,  is  the  /Sacrifice  of  Isaac,  in  the  Doria  pal- 
ace. It  is  a  magnificent  work,  and  one  of  the  most 
perfect  in  every  way  that  has  been  left  by  the  great 
painter  of  Cadore. 

A  good  number  of  his  works  are  to  be  found  in 
the  Studi  gallery  at  Naples ;  in  the  first  place,  Pope 
Paul  III.  seated  at  a  desk,  and  raising  the  young 
prince  Ottaviano  II.  of  Parma,  who  is  kneeling  be- 
fore him.  This  picture,  which  has  a  great  effect  at  a 
distance,  is  painted  very  large,  too  large  perhaps, 
rather  in  the  style  of  a  rough  sketch.  It  seems  that 


262  WONDERS   OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

Paul  III.  must  have  complained  of  this  negligence, 
for  Titian  painted  his  portrait  again,  and  this  time 
with  such  delicate  care,  such  minute  finish,  that  we 
might  believe  that  this  portrait  served  as  a'  model  to 
the  small  figures  of  Gerard  Terburg.  It  is  doubly 
precious  on  account  of  its  exquisite  finish.  The 
other  portraits  by  Titian  are  of  Erasmus  of  Rotter- 
dam in  his  extreme  old  age,  and  Philip  II.  of  Spain, 
when  young ;  both  are  excellent.  The  latter  is 
signed  Titianus  Veedlius  deques  Cesaris.  It  was  no 
doubt  painted  a  short  while  after  the  time  that 
Charles  V.  had  conferred  the  order  of  knighthood, 
with  a  pension  of  two  hundred  crowns,  on  the  great 
painter  whose  pencil  he  had  condescended  to  pick 
up.  On  his  accession  Philip  II.  doubled  this  pen- 
sion. It  is  in  a  sort  of  private  cabinet  (in  which 
however  any  one  may  enter)  that  the  Danae,  seduced 
by  the  golden  shower,  and  whom  Love  watches  smil- 
ing, has  long  been  hidden.  This  Danae  was  painted 
for  the  duke  Ottavio  Farnese  at  Rome,  when,  although, 
sixty-eight  years  of  age,  Titian  yielded  to  the  press- 
ing solicitations  of  Paul  III.,  and  appeared  at  the 
pontifical  court,  to  which  Leo  X.  had  not  succeeded 
in  attracting  him.  This  picture  was  much  admired, 
but  the  austere  Michael  Angelo,  to  whom  it  was 
shown,  added  a  reservation.  "  It  is  a  great  pity," 
said  he,  "  that  at  Venice  they  do  not  make  it  a  rule 
to  draw  well :  this  man  would  have  no  equal  if  he 
had  strengthened  his  natural  genius  by  the  knowl- 
edge of  drawing."  At  Rome,  also,  there  is  another 


SAN    SEBASTIANO.— BY   TITIAN. 
In  the  Vatican,  Rome. 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  265 

picture  of  Titian's,  Vanity,  placed  in  one  of  those 
reserved  and  secret  cabinets,  which  are  really  neither 
reserved  nor  secret,  but  where  any  one  can  easily 
obtain  access.  The  Florentines,  on  the  contrary,  have 
placed  their  two  Venuses  by  Titian  in  the  middle  of 
the  Tribune,  the  most  frequented  of  their  galleries. 

At  Madrid  a  whole  museum  might  be  formed  of 
the  works  of  Titian  alone.  Sent  for  three  times  to 
Augsburg,  to  paint  Charles  V.,  and  then  Philip  II., 
who  all  through  his  life  kept  up  a  familiar  corre- 
spondence with  the  great  Venetian  artist,  Titian 
appears  to  have  bequeathed  to  Spain  the  greater  part 
of  the  immense  labors  of  his  prolonged  life.  The 
biographers  of  the  painter  mentioned  several  compo- 
sitions, and  some  of  his  most  important  ones,  which 
could  neither  be  discovered  at  Venice  nor  in  the  rest 
of  Italy,  nor  anywhere  else,  and  which  in  consequence 
were  considered  lost.  A  great  number  of  these  hav- 
ing been  found  in  the  catacomb-like  galleries  of  the 
Escurial,  have  been  restored  to  the  light  of  day  in  the 
museum  of  Madrid,  and  have  increased  the  glory  and 
wealth  of  that  gallery.  Spain,  however,  has  not  pre- 
served all  she  possessed  by  Titian.  The  terrible  fire 
of  the  Pardo,  in  1608,  probably  consumed  the  great 
allegory  called  Religion,  which  has  entirely  disap- 
peared. Other  precious  pictures  have  perished  under 
the  ravages  of  time  and  of  men ;  for  instance,  the 
large  and  magnificent  painting  of  the  Last  Supper, 
the  rival  of  that  by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  at  which 
Titian  labored  seven  years,  and  which  he  considered 


266  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

the  best  of  his  works,  even  after  he  had  painted  the 
Assumption,  revered  at  Venice  as  the  most  sacred 
relic  of  its  painter.  Too  dilapidated  to  bear  a  re- 
moval, the  remains  of  this  great  composition  were 
obliged  to  be  left  fastened  to  the  walls  of  the  desert- 
ed Refectory  in  the  Eseurial,  where  it  has  been  muti- 
lated by  impious  hands,  and  destroyed  by  slow  tor- 
ture. And  yet,  even  after  these  cruel  losses,  Spain  is 
the  most  richly  endowed  of  the  nations  who  have 
inherited  the  works  of  Titian.  The  JVIuseo  del  Hey 
at  Madrid  contains  as  many  as  forty-two  works  of 
the  illustrious  centenarian.  We  will  merely  mention 
briefly  the  principal  among  this  almost  incredible 
number,  beginning  with  the  portraits,  and  following 
the  order  of  the  works  from  the  simplest  to  the  most 
important. 

The  principal  among  the  portraits  would  be  a 
Charles  V.  on  horseback,  in  full  armor  and  with  his 
lance  in  rest,  like  a  knight-errant,  if  this  splendid  pic- 
ture, praised  by  all  the  biographers  of  Titian,  were 
not  unfortunately  much  injured.  We  must  then  give 
the  first  place  to  another  Charles  V.,  on  foot,  and 
clothed  this  time  in  civil  costume,  a  black  cap.  doub- 
let of  cloth  of  gold,  and  white  mantle  and  hose ;  he 
rests  his  hand  on  the  head  of  a  large  dog — an  histori- 
cal personage  who  was  for  several  years  the  favorite 
of  the  ernperor.  This  picture  is  as  remarkable  for  its 
perfect  preservation  as  for  the  wonderful  execution 
of  every  part,  and  the  expression  of  majesty  which 
pervades  the  whole.  A  third  Charles  V.,  brought 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  267 

from  the  Escurial,  was  painted  at  the  close  of  his 
reign,  with  a  whitened  beard,  when  the  weariness  and 
disgust  of  public  affairs  led  the  conqueror  of  Pavia, 
the  sacker  of  Rome,  to  the  monastery  of  San  Yuste. 
Philip  II.,  with  his  pale,  fair,  and  effeminate  face,  is 
twice  represented,  on  foot  and  in  half-length  portrait, 
and  both  times  admirably,  although,  even  when  young 
he  could  only  have  been  painted  in  the  old  age  of 
Titian.  Several  other  portraits  come  afterwards 
which  are  no  less  remarkable  ;  those  of  Isabella  of 
Portugal,  ther  wife  of  Charles  V.,  and  of  a  lady 
dressed  in  white  whose  name  is  unknown ;  those  of 
different  gentlemen,  one  playing  with  a  fine  spaniel, 
another  closing  a  book  of  prayers,  one  wearing  a 
large  white  cross  on  his  breast,  another  (the  Marquis 
del  Yasto)  holding  in  his  hand  a  general's  baton  ; 
and  lastly  one  of  Titian  himself,  old  and  venerable, 
with  a  long  white  beard,  in  which  he  has  rendered, 
with  admirable  simplicity,  his  calm,  noble,  and  ex- 
pressive face,  still  youthful  even  in  extreme  old  age. 

Amongst  the  paintings  of  single  figures,  there  is 
a  bold  Ecce  Homo  painted  on  slate ;  a  Mater  Dolo- 
rosa,  which  is  nothing  more  than  a  lady  in  affliction, 
and  like  many  other  pictures,  both  ancient  and  mod- 
ern, would  be  much  improved  by  the  name  being 
changed  ;  two  /St.  Margarets,  one  of  them  a  half- 
length  figure,  on  the  point  of  being  devoured  by  the 
dragon,  which,  according  to  the  legend,  swallowed 
her  alive,  but  from  which  she  emerged  safe  and  sound 
on  making  the  sign  of  the  cross  ;  the  other  is  a  full- 


268  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

length  figure,  having  the  dead  dragon  at  her  feet ; 
both  are  as  remarkable  for  the  beauty  of  the  features 
and  the  serenity  of  the  expression  as  for  the  vigor 
and  transparency  of  the  touch  ;  and  lastly  the  Daugh- 
ter of  Herodias,  who  is  taking  the  head  of  St.  John 
the  Baptist  to  her  mother  on  a  silver  charger.  I  have 
reserved  this  picture,  which  was  brought  from  the 
Escurial,  as  the  last  of  the  series,  because  in  my  opin- 
ion it  is  the  most  wonderful.  Never  has  Titian, 
always  so  strong,  so  true,  so  powerful,  shown  more 
strength,  truth,  and  power.  It  is  before  this  beauti- 
ful and  terrible  daughter  of  Herodias,  that  we  recall 
and  accept  the  saying  of  Tintoretto,  who  said  of 
Titian,  "  That  man  paints  with  pounded  flesh."  It 
was  indeed  flesh,  but  animated,  living  flesh,  which  he 
found  on  his  palette,  and  which  he  placed  on  his  im- 
mortal canvas. 

The  paintings  containing  several  figures  may  be 
divided  into  sacred  and  profane.  Among  the  former, 
which  are  the  least  numerous,  we  may  notice  a  Christ 
bearing  Sis  Cross,  much  smaller  than  the  Spasimo, 
and  in  the  early  style  of  Titian,  when  he  imitated  his 
fellow-student  Giorgione,  whose  influence  is  here  clear 
and  manifest ;  an  Abraham  restrained  by  the  Angel, 
greater  in  its  proportions  but  not  in  its  style  than  that 
by  Andrea  del  Sarto  on  the  same  subject.  By  the 
ease  in  the  execution,  and  the  transparent  and  gilded 
coloring,  we  can  recognize  that  this  work  belongs  to 
a  more  advanced  period  of  the  master's  life,  when  he 
had  fixed  his  own  style.  There  is  also  an  Original 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  269 

Sin,  that  is  to  say,  Eve  presenting  her  husband  with 
the  apple  she  has  just  received  from  the  serpent,  who 
is  twined  round  the  tree  of  life.  To  praise  sufficient- 
ly highly  this  painting,  in  which  Titian  has  lavished 
all  his  knowledge  of  chiaroscuro  and  all  his  depth  of 
coloring,  it  suffices  to  say,  that  on  his  return  from 
Madrid  in  1628,  Rubens,  the  great  Flemish  colorist, 
in  order  to  study  thoroughly  the  manner  of  the  great 
Venetian  colorist,  made  a  complete  finished  copy  of 
this  work,  which  is  still  at  Madrid  among  the  works 
of  his  school.  Afterwards  come  two  Entombments, 
exactly  alike  except  for  a  few  differences  in  the  color 
of  the  vestments.  As  no  one  has  doubted  that  these 
are  both  by  Titian,  and  that  these  two  exact  repeti- 
tions of  the  same  subject  are  themselves  exactly  like 
the  celebrated  Entombment  which  may  be  admired 
both  in  the  Manfrini  palace  at  Venice  and  also  in  the 
Louvre,  it  is  clear  that  Titian  must  have  copied  him- 
self at  least  three  times,  a  remarkable  fact,  and  one 
which  justifies  what  the  Italians  call  repliche.  We 
must  also  mention  an  Assumption  of  the  Magdalen, 
containing  only  the  figure  of  the  beautiful  sinner,  be- 
come a  rigid  anchorite,  and  the  group  of  angels  bear- 
ing her  triumphantly  towards  the  celestial  dwellings. 
This  Assumption  does  not  equal  in  size  or  importance 
the  great  Assumption  of  the  Viryin,  at  Venice,  but 
in  vigor  of  expression,  in  the  coloring  and  general 
effect,  it  yields  neither  to  that  nor  to  any  other  of 
Titian's  works ;  it  is  one  of  the  wonders  of  his  pen- 
cil. Lastly  we  come  to  the  great  Allegory,  half  re- 


270  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

ligious,  half  political,  in  which  is  seen  the  imperial 
family,  Charles  V.,  Philip  II.,  and  their  wives,  pre- 
sented in  heaven  to  the  Trinity.  This  painting  re- 
quires a  short  digression. 

This  celebrated  and  magnificent  picture  was  be- 
lieved to  be  lost,  although  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able of  Titian's  works ;  but  having  been  found 
amongst  the  buried  riches  of  the  Escurial,  it  is  now 
the  most  important  of  the  forty  works  by  this  master 
in  the  museum  of  Madrid.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
dilate  on  the  extreme  difficulty  of  such  a  composition. 
To  paint  heaven  is  always  a  bold  undertaking,  and 
few  masters  have  attempted  it  with  impunity.  Nev- 
ertheless, in  a  subject  wholly  sacred  and  mystic,  we 
can  conceive  that  by  the  help  of  traditional  belief  a 
painter  may  open  to  us  the  Christian  heavens  as  he 
would  open  the  mythological  Olympus ;  to  guide 
him,  he  has  Dante  instead  of  Homer.  But  if  with 
the  supernatural  beings,  with  the  celestial  personages, 
mere  symbols,  having  bodies  only  for  our  eyes,  he 
has  to  mix  real  terrestrial  beings  living  with  our  life, 
in  whom  he  must  preserve  even  the  resemblance  in 
features,  height,  and  costume,  then  the  difficulty  be- 
comes almost  an  impossibility,  and  the  painter  in  the 
treatment  of  such  a  subject  can  only  with  the  utmost 
skill  avoid  the  ridiculous.  Such  was  the  situation  of 
Titian  when  he  painted  this  courtier's  Allegory,  his 
Apotheosis  of  the  Imperial  Family.  Heaven  is 
there  represented  open  ;  the  Divine  Trinity  occupy 
the  throne  of  glory,  on  which  Mary  is  also  sitting, 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  271 

and  like  the  White  Dove,  which  represents  the  Holy 
Spirit,  seems  to  melt  away  into  the  brilliant  waves 
of  light  from  above  ;  the  Trinity  appears  to  be  com- 
posed of  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Virgin,  all 
alike  clothed  in  long  sky-bine  mantles.  Above  them 
are  choirs  of  archangels,  patriarchs,  prophets,  apos- 
tles, while  angels  are  introducing  into  the  celestial 
court  the  four  sovereigns  from  the  earth,  who  now 
reversing  their  usual  parts,  with  clasped  hands  and 
bent  heads  are  admitted  instead  of  admitting  others, 
and  are  themselves  supplicants  instead  of  being  sup- 
plicated. Standing  in  front  of  the  group,  Charles  V. 
has  already  put  on  the  monk's  white  frock,  Philip 
and  the  two  queens  preserve  their  royal  garments. 
This  circumstance  gives  a  date  to  the  picture  ;  it 
could  only  have  been  painted  after  the  abdication  of 
the  emperor,  in  1556,  when  Titian  had  attained  what 
for  most  men  is  extreme  old  age,  eighty  years.  And 
yet  in  this  strange  composition,  which  was  doubtless 
ordered  by  the  doubtful  but  demonstrative  filial  love 
of  the  successor  of  Charles  V.,  we  may  recognize  the 
hand  of  the  great  artist  who  had  painted  the  As- 
sumption half  a  century  before.  If,  before  the 
Apotheosis,  we  can  for  one  moment  forget  the  sub- 
ject, which  must  shock  and  displease  us  ;  if  we  study 
the  figures  in  detail,  if  in  the  whole  we  only  seek  an 
arrangement  of  groups,  a  general  effect  of  lights  and 
color :  then  we  are  able  to  recognize  that  there  is 
nothing  superior  to  this  picture  in  the  whole  works 
of  Titian,  and  that  at  eighty  years  of  age  as  at  thirty, 


272  WONDERS   OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

he  was  the  first  colorist  of  Italy,  if  not  of  every 
school  and  of  every  time. 

In  the  series  of  profane  compositions  I  must  men- 
tion rapidly  two  Venuses  almost  alike,  and  strongly 
resembling  those  in  the  Tribune  at  Florence,  for  they 
are  both  lying  down  and  naked,  and  both  may  dis- 
pute the  prize  of  beauty  with  their  celebrated  name- 
sakes ;  then  the  group  of  Venus  and  Adonis,  of 
which  there  is  an  inferior  fac-simile  in  the  National 
Gallery  in  London.  It  is  certain  that  under  the  fea- 
tures of  the  hunter,  tearing  himself  from  the  embraces 
of  his  celestial  lover,  Titian  has  painted  Philip  II., 
who  when  still  very  young,  fresh,  and  delicate,  was 
considered,  like  Francis  I.,  and  every  prince  not  actu- 
ally deformed,  the  handsomest  man  in  the  kingdom. 
Notwithstanding  this  innocent  flattery,  which  may 
have  impaired  the  proverbial  beauty  of  Adonis,  this 
picture  is  considered  one  of  the  masterpieces  of  the 
painter.  The  charming  attitude  of  Yenus,  so  grace- 
ful in  an  almost  forced  movement ;  the  animated 
group  of  dogs ;  the  figure  of  Mars,  who  from  the  sky 
prepares  the  vengeance  of  a  jealous  lover ;  the  inge- 
nious arrangement,  the  correct  drawing,  the  fire  of 
the  pencil,  are  united  to  show  in  this  celebrated  work 
to  what  a  degree  of  perfection  Titian  could  rise. 
Under  the  title  of  Sacrifice  to  the  Goddess  of  fertil- 
ity, be  has  painted  one  of  the  most  wonderful  scenes 
that  the  most  adventurous  colorist  could  attempt  or 
imagine.  In  a  beautiful  landscape  at  the  foot  of  the 
statue  of  the  godde:s,  to  whom  two  young  girls  are 


VENETIAN   SCHOOL.  273 

offering  presents  of  fruit  and  flowers,  an  innumerable 
band  of  young  children  (I  have  counted  more  than 
sixty),  scattered  in  different  groups  over  the  whole 
picture,  are  struggling  and  playing  with  the  inno- 
cence and  vivacity  of  their  age.  What  difficulties 
are  in  the  subject,  and  what  boldness  was  required  to 
attempt  it !  It  was  first  necessary  to  vary  almost 
infinitely  the  sports,  the  attitudes,  and  the  passions 
of  this  childish  multitude  ;  and  on  the  other  hand  he 
had  to  contend  with  monotony  of  color,  for  the  whole 
picture  is  filled  with  nude  figures  only.  Titian  has 
played  with  these  immense  difficulties  without  more 
apparent  effort  than  is  made  by  the  children,  who, 
simple  and  graceful,  run,  dance,  gather  fruits,  carry 
them  in  baskets,  and  turn  them  into  arms  in  their 
innocent  combats.  This  Sacrifice  to  the  Goddess  of 
Fertility  is  splendidly  executed  ;  it  leaves  far  behind 
it  the  soft  Albani,  the  painter  of  loves.  When  it  was 
still  at  Rome,  in  the  Ludovisi  palace,  Foussin  studied 
it,  and  copied  it  several  times.  There  is  no  doubt 
that  by  this  means  he  improved  his  coloring,  which 
had  been  rather  dark  and  sad,  and  he  learnt  to  paint 
those  charming  little  children  which  in  several  of  his 
works,  amongst  others  Lcs  Bacchanalcs^  take  so  im- 
portant a  part.  Poussin  may,  indeed,  have  taken  the 
idea  for  this  celebrated  painting  from  another  picture 
by  Titian,  in  that  same  Ludovisi  palace,  since  re- 
moved, like  the  preceding,  from  Rome  to  Madrid,  for 
Philip  IY.  This  is  the  other  masterpiece,  entitled 
the  Arrival  of  Bacchus  at  the  Isle  of  Naxos,  which 
18 


274  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

is,  indeed,  like  its  pendant,  the  Bacchus  and  Ari- 
-adne  in  the  National  Gallery,  a  true  Bacchanalian 
scene.  The  scene  is,  of  course,  on  the  sea-shore  and 
on  the  blue  waves :  in  the  distance  is  a  white  sail, 
which  indicates  either  the  departure  of  the  ungrateful 
Theseus,  or  the  approach  of  Bacchus  the  consoler. 
The  abandoned  Ariadne,  still  asleep,  is  lying  naked 
in  the  foreground  of  the  picture ;  she  is  surrounded 
by  different  groups  of  Bacchantes,  dancing,  singing, 
and  drinking,  whilst  old  Silenus  is  also  sleeping 
among  the  bushes  on  a  hill.  This  Bacchus  at  Naxos^ 
although  only  about  half  the  size  of  nature,  is  one  of 
the  greatest  works  of  Titian.  The  color  and  effect  in 
it  are  really  wonderful,  it  attracts  and  enchains  the 
spectator,  and  it  is  difficult  for  him  to  tear  himself 
from  the  extreme  pleasure  and  the  profound  admira- 
tion its  contemplation  excites. 

I  have  reserved  to  the  end  those  pictures  by 
Titian,  which  show  his  talent  in  another  light,  and 
prove  his  astonishing  fertility  continued  to  an  age 
which  renders  it  really  fabulous,  and  of  which  we 
find  no  other  example  in  the  history  of  art. 

We  have  just  seen  that  the  Apotheosis  of  Charles  V. 
was  painted  when  Titian  was  entering  on  his 
eightieth  year.  We  now  find  two  excellent  sketches, 
Diana  Surprised  by  Act&on,  and  Diana  Discovering 
the  Fault  of  Gattisto,  which  Philip  II.  ordered  of  his 
favorite  painter  four  years  later,  and  in  which  is 
found  all  the  youthful  vivacity  required  for  these 
mythological  subjects.  There  is  also  a  large  histori- 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  275 

cal  painting  which  required  the  greatest  powers  of 
the  artist ;  this  is  the  Allegory  of  the  Battle  of  Le-i 
pcmto.  Through  the  open  window,  at  the  end  of  a 
long  and  rich  gallery,  are  seen  some  incidents  of  a 
naval  combat.  On  the  right  side  of  the  picture, 
Philip  II.  is  holding  up  his  newly-born  child,  Don 
Fernando,  as  though  in  thanksgiving  to  heaven  ;  the 
child  seems  to  be  playing  with  the  palm-branch, 
which  Fame,  who  has  brought  at  once  the  tidings 
and  the  crown  of  victory,  is  waving  in  the  air.  On 
the  left  side  there  are  piled  up  turbans,  quivers, 
shields,  and  standards,  taken  from  the  vanquished 
enemies,  and  a  Turk  chained  to  the  ground  completes 
the  indication  of  the  destruction  of  the  Ottoman 
fleet.  Nothing  in  this  work  speaks  of  the  weakness 
of  old  age.  The  thought  is  still  clear,  the  hand  firm, 
and  the  execution  brilliant.  Who  would  not  be  sur- 
prised on  hearing  at  what  an  age  Titian  undertook 
it?  The  dates,  however,  admit  of  no  doubt:  born  at 
Cadore,  in  the  Italian  Tyrol,  in  1477,  Titian  died  of 
the  plague  at  Venice  in  1576.  Now  the  battle  of 
Lepanto  was  fought  on  the  5th  of  October,  1571. 
When  he  began  this  painting  then  he  must  have  com- 
pleted his  ninety -fourth  year.  After  this  wonderful 
effort  the  only  other  work  of  his  we  can  find  is  the 
Taking  down  from  the  Cross,  in  the  Museum  of  Ven- 
ice, which  he  left  unfinished,  and  which  was  com- 
pleted by  Palmavecchio,  who,  after  having  finished 
it,  "  reverentially,"  as  the  inscription  says,  thought  he 
could  only  offer  it  to  God.  u  Deoque  dicavit  opus." 


276  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

Very  few  of  Titian's  works  are  found  out  of  Italy 
and  Spain.  In  the  National  Gallery  there  are  only 
the  two  pictures  already  mentioned,  and  no  museum 
or  gallery  in  the  north  of  Europe  can  boast  of  pos- 
sessing one  of  his  compositions  of  the  first  rank. 
They  have  only  portraits  by  Titian,  although,  if  we 
may  believe  the  names  on  the  picture-frames  at  Vien- 
na, there  are  almost  as  many  of  Titian's  works  there 
as  at  Madrid,  and  the  two  capitals  must  have  divided 
the  inheritance  of  Charles  V.  This  is  the  case  also 
with  the  Pinacotheca  of  Munich,  and  even  with  the 
Dresden  Gallery,  with,  however,  one  exception.  It 
possesses  the  famous  Christo  della  Moneta,  which 
represents  our  Lord's  discourse  respecting  the  tribute 
money.  There  are  but  two  figures  in  this  painting, 
Christ  and  his  interlocutor,  merely  seen  in  half-length, 
and  yet  the  subject  is  perfectly  clear ;  it  might  be 
understood  merely  by  the  countenance  of  Christ,  as 
intellectual  and  intelligent  as  it  is  full  of  nobility  and 
goodness.  The  magnificent  color  and  wonderful  fin- 
ish of  the  execution  make  this  picture  a  real  master- 
piece. 

Paris  is  not  much  richer  than  London  or  Vienna. 
Of  the  four  Holy  Families  attributed  to  Titian  in  the 
Louvre,  one  alone,  that  called  the  Vierge  au  Lapin,  is 
of  any  importance  ;  the  authenticity  even  of  the  others 
is  doubtful.  But  the  Christ  Crowned  with  Thorns, 
the  Entombment,  and  the  Disciples  at  Emmaus,  are 
three  fine  paintings,  in  a  grand  style,  of  vigorous  exe- 
cution, and  worthy  the  illustrious  chief  of  the  Venetian 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  277 

school.  As  for  the  Entombment,  remarkable  for  high 
qualities  which  Titian  did  not  always  attain,  or  even 
aim  at,  depth  of  sentiment  and  power  of  expression, 
it  is  onljr  one  of  the  numerous  repetitions  of  a  subject 
which  he  had  treated  several  times,  almost  without 
variations,  and  of  which  the  Manfrini  palace  boasts  of 
possessing  the  original.  In  the  two  disciples  and  the 
page  who  surround  the  table  in  the  picture  of  the 
Disciples  at  Emmaus,  some  have  thought  they  discov- 
ered the  portraits  of  the  Cardinal  Ximenes,  Charles  V., 
and  the  young  Philip  II.  This  is  one  of  those  man- 
ifest fables,  so  common  in  studios,  and  the  origin  of 
which  is  perfectly  inexplicable.  Ximenes,  the  minister 
of  the  Catholic  kings,  dead  before  the  accession  of 
Charles  to  tbe  throne  of  Spain,  and  whom  Titian  never 
saw  nor  could  have  seen,  was  not  a  fat  and  florid  monk, 
but  a  thin  old  man;  Charles.  Y.  had  red  hair  and 
beard,  with  a  jaw  like  that  of  a  bull-dog ;  Philip  was 
very  fair  and  effeminate ;  and  their  faces,  so  many 
times  painted  by  Titian  himself,  have  no  resemblance 
whatever  to  those  of  the  personages  in  this  pic- 
ture. 

We  may  see  at  the  Louvre  how  Titian  excelled  in 
portrait  painting,  in  which  no  one  has  surpassed  him, 
and  in  which  he  has  given  immortality  to  all  his 
models.  It  may  be  said  of  his  portraits  that  we  do  not 
look  at  them  but  meet  them.  I  do  not  include  that  of 
Francis  I.  in  profile,  because  at  no  period  of  his  life, 
not  even  when  he  crossed  the  Alps,  either  for  his  vic- 
tory of  Marignan  or  his  defeat  at  Pavia,  could  this 


278  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

prince  have  met  Titian  ;  and  his  portrait  was  not 
painted  from  nature,  but  rather,  to  all  appearance, 
from  a  medal.  It  is  better  to  notice  four  portraits  of 
men,  the  best  of  which  is,  perhaps,  that  of  a  young 
patrician  called  ZSUomme  au  Gant,  their  names  are 
unknown,  and  it  is  a  pity,  for  Titian  knew  how  to  paint 
the  moral  with  the  physical  life,  and  the  soul  with  the 
body.  We  must  also  notice  the  portrait  of  the  Marquis 
do  Guast  (Alonzo  de  Avalos,  Marquis  del  Vasto),  placed 
in  a  sort  of  allegory,  in  the  same  frame  with  that  of  his 
wife  or  mistress ;  and  especially  the  portrait  of  a 
young  woman  at  her  toilette,  combing  out  her  long 
dark  hair  before  a  mirror ;  it  is  called  La  Maitresse 
de  Titian'  but  there  is  nothing  to  justify  this  name. 
It  is  even  probable  that  this  beautiful  young  woman 
was  a  certain  Laura  di  Dianti,  at  first  the  mistress  of 
the  Duke  of  Ferrara,  Alphonso  I.,  who  married  her 
as  soon  as  he  was  delivered  from  his  first  wife,  the 
terrible  Lucrezia  Borgia.  If,  in  this  picture  and  others, 
she  has  been  called  the  mistress  of  Titian,  it  is,  per- 
haps, because  he  made  several  repetitions  of  it  with 
variations ;  or  more  probably  because  of  the  wonder- 
ful execution  of  this  portrait,  which  would  have  satis- 
fied even  Michael  Angelo  in  its  drawing,  and  which 
is  equal  in  color  to  the  Daughter  of  Herodias  at  Mad- 
rid. Many  have  thought  that  such  care,  such  perfec- 
tion, could  only  have  been  the  eifect  of  love. 

After  Titian  we  come  to  TINTORETTO.     Giacomo 
Kobusti  (1512-1594),  who  is  called  "il  Tintoretto," 


VENETIAN   SCHOOL.  279 

because  he  was  the  son  of  a  dyer,  has  filled  the  temples 
and  palaces  of  Venice  with  his  works ;  for,  endowed 
with  a  wonderful  facility  in  conception  and  execution, 
he  labored  diligently  dm'iug  a  life  of  eighty-two  years. 
His  artistic  qualities  were  so  early  developed,  that 
Titian,  urged  by  a  feeling  of  jealousy  for  which  he 
afterwards  nobly  compensated,  sent  from  his  studio 
this  scholar,  whose  rivalry  he  feared  even  when  almost 
a  child.  This  was  of  service  to  Tintoretto :  instead  of 
imitating  his  master  servilely,  as  all  his  fellow-disci- 
ples had  done,  he  formed  a  more  original  style  for  him- 
self, by  endeavoring  to  follow  the  rule  he  had  adopted 
— to  unite  the  drawing  of  Michael  Angelo  with  the 
coloring  of  Titian.  But  after  varied  arid  laborious 
studies,  the  numerous  orders  he  received,  as  soon  as  he 
began  to  be  known,  and  the  feverish  eagerness  of  his 
work,  which  acquired  for  him  the  name  of  "  il  Furioso," 
liindered  Tintoretto  from  giving  the  same  care  to  his 
painting;  there  are  even  some  evidently  done  in  great 
haste,  or  rather  with  that  desire  to  do  much  quickly, 
which  may  be  called  negligence  in  work.  Hence 
Annibal  Carracci  said  justly,  if  playfully,  that  Tinto- 
retto is  often  inferior  to  Tintoretto. 

If  space  did  not  fail  us,  we  should  describe  the 
large  Crucifixion,  in  the  church  of  San  Zanipolo ;  the 
St.  Agnes  Restoring  to  Life  the  son  of  the  'Prefect 
iSemproniuSj  in  Santa  Maria  del  Orto,  a  magnificent 
painting,  which  was  brought  to  Paris  with  the  pictures 
by  Titian ;  and  the  ceiling  in  the  Hall  of  Council  in 
the  ducal  palace  called  the  Glory  of  Paradise.  This 


280  WONDEBS    OF    ITALIAN    AUT. 

is  certainly  one  of  the  largest  paintings  artist  ever  un- 
dertook, for  it  is  thirty  feet  in  width  and  sixty-four  feet 
in  length.  Although,  a  production  of  his  old  age,  con- 
fused in  some  parts,  and  very  unskilfully  restored,  this 
picture  still  produces  a  powerful  effect.  In  the  Louvre 
there  is  one  of  the  sketches  used  in  its  preparation ; 
but  unfortunately  nothing  else  by  Tintoretto,  unless 
it  be  his  own  portrait,  taken  when  he  had  white  hair 
and  beardj  after  the  sad  death  of  his  much-loved 
daughter.  In  Madrid  there  is  another  sketch  for  the 
same  ceiling,  better  and  more  valuable  than  the  other, 
as  it  is  the  one  he  preferred  and  recopied.  This 
sketch,  brought  by  Velasquez  to  Philip  IV.,  presents, 
in  reduced  proportions,  an  infinite  number  of  cherubim, 
angels,  patriarchs,  prophets,  apostles,  martyrs,  virgins, 
and  saints  of  every  sort,  grouped  around  the  Trinity, 
and  in  this  sketch,  as  in  the  picture,  we  can  trace  his 
fiery  and  often  unreflecting  impetuosity,  that  feverish- 
ness  which  procured  him  his  surname.  As  for  the 
galleries  in  the  north  of  Europe,  those  of  London,  St. 
Petersburg,  Holland,  and  of  the  whole  of  Germany, 
they  have  scarcely  anything  of  Tintoretto's  but  por- 
traits, among  which  we  may  distinguish  his  own  and 
that  of  his  son,  which  he  presented  to  the  doge.  We 
must  then  study  his  works  in  the  Accademia  delle 
Belle  Arti  in  Venice. 

There  we  shall  find  the  fine  portrait  of  the  Doge 
Mocenigo,  The  Ascension  of  Christ  in  the  Presence  of 
Three  Senators'  a  Madonna  worshipped  by  Three 
Senators ;  and  an  Enthroned  Madonna  between  St. 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  281 

Cosmo  and  St,  Damian,  a  perfect  and  unsurpassable 
marvel  in  coloring.  Opposite  the  Assumption  of  Ti- 
tian, which  occupies  one  of  the  principal  panels  in  the 
large  hall,  the  Miracle  of  St.  Mark  has  been  placed. 
This  is  only  a  justice  rendered  to  this  immortal  work, 
the  masterpiece  of  its  author,  and  one  of  the  first  as- 
suredly, not  merely  of  that  school  but  of  all  art. 
Tintoretto  painted  it  at  thirty-six  years  of  age ;  it  re- 
presents the  deliverance  of  a  slave  condemned  to  death, 
by  the  miraculous  intervention  of  the  patron  of  Venice. 
It  is  an  immense  scene  in  the  open  air,  and  contains 
a  number  of  figures,  grouped  without  confusion,  and 
all  contributing  to  the  completeness  of  the  subject, 
without  interfering  with  its  unity.  In  the  midst  of 
these  people,  assembled  in  order  to  witness  the  execu- 
tion, and  who  become  spectators  of  the  miracle,  the 
slave  lying  on  the  ground,  whose  bands  are  breaking 
of  themselves,  and  the  Evangelist  extended  in  the  air, 
as  if  supported  by  wings,  present  foreshortenings  of 
great  boldness  and  success.  The  figure  of  the  slave 
stands  out  white  against  the  dark  robes  around  him  ; 
that  of  the  saint  is  dark  on  a  background  of  dazzling 
light.  All  seem  to  live  and  move ;  the  crowd  appears 
to  be  agitated  by  astonishment  and  fright ;  and  when 
looking  at  it,  we  can  understand  the  truth  of  the  pro- 
verb of  Italian  artists,  that  movement  must  be  studied 
in  Tintoretto.  Besides  the  commanding  power  of  the 
touch,  the  disposition  of  the  light,  the  harmony  and 
delicacy  of  the  colors,  the  vigor  of  the  chiaroscuro,  all 
the  magic  power  of  coloring  carried  to  its  greatest  ex- 


282  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN  ART. 

tent,  form  a  dazzling  and  wonderful  work,  which 
might  be  called  the  Miracle  of  Tintoretto  instead  of 
the  Miracle  of  St.  Mark. 

The  other  great  rival  of  Titian  was  Paolo  Cagli- 
ari,  or  Caliari,  of  Verona  (1528-1588),  whom  we  call 
PAUL  VERONESE.  "We  shall  find  the  collection  of  his 
works  at  Paris  is  greater  and  more  complete  than  at 
Venice.  We  may  then  pass  by  the  magnificent  ceil- 
ing in  the  hall  of  the  Council  of  Ten,  in  the  ducal 
palace,  which  is  considered,  after  the  Sistine,  the 
most  beautiful  ceiling  in  Italy.  This  represents  the 
Apotheosis  of  Venice.  "  In  it  may  be  seen,"  says 
M.  Charles  Blanc,  "  the  Eepublic  borne  on  the 
clouds,  crowned  by  Glory ;  celebrated  by  Fame ; 
accompanied  by  Honor,  Liberty,  and  Peace — the 
whole  executed  in  a  style,  less  impetuous  certainly 
than  that  of  Tintoretto,  but  full  of  mind,  warmth, 
and  movement."  We  may  also  pass  by  the  cele- 
brated Rape  of  Europa,  which  was  considered  the 
first  of  Paul  Veronese's  works  in  Venice.  In  it,  as 
in  the  Last  Supper,  and  other  works  intended  to  be 
religious,  he  clothed  the  figures  in  Venetian  costume. 
Europa  is  magnificently  dressed.  The  visit  of  this 
painting  to  Paris  was  not  as  profitable  to  it  as  to  the 
St.  Peter  Martyr  of  Titian.  The  process  of  the 
painter  not  being  understood,  it  was  first  cleaned, 
then  varnished,  and  the  operation  unhappily  took  off 
the  delicacy  and  transparency  of  the  most  delicate 
tints. 


THE   MARTYRDOM   OF   SAINT  JUSTINA.— BY   PAUL   VERONESE. 
In  the  Church  of  Santa  Giustina,  Padua, 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  285 

Let  us  now  explain  in  a  few  words  how  it  was 
that  Paris  inherited  so  many  of  the  works  of  the 
painter  of  Verona. 

In  the  course  of  his  life,  shorter,  but  not  less  labo- 
rious and  fruitful  than 'those  of  his  illustrious  prede- 
cessors, Paul  Veronese  painted  four  works,  which, 
resembling  one  another,  are  yet  distinguished  from 
all  others  by  the  nature  of  the  subject  and  the  un- 
usual size  of  the  composition.  These  are  the  four 
Feasts,  or  Cenacoli,  painted  for  the  refectories  of  four 
monasteries :  the  Marriage  at  Cana,  for  the  convent 
of  San  Giorgio  Maggiore  ;  the  Feast  at  the  House  of 
Simon  the  Pharisee,  for  the  convent  of  the  Servite 
brethren  ;  the  Feast  given  by  Levi,  for  the  convent 
of  Santi  Giovannie  Paolo ;  and  the  Supper  in  the 
House  of  Simon  the  Leper,  for  the  convent  of  San 
Sebastiano ;  all  at  Venice.  The  senate  of  the  Re- 
public presented  one  of  these,  The  Feast  in  the 
Souse  of  the  Pharisee,  to  Louis  XIV.  Under  the 
Empire,  the  three  others  were  brought  to  Paris  ;  but 
two  of  them  — the  Feast  given  l)y  Levi,  and  the  Sap- 
per in  the  House  of  Simon  the  Leper — were  after- 
wards restored  to  Venice,  where  they  were  placed, 
not  in  the  refectories  of  convents,  but  in  the  Academy 
of  the  Fine  Arts,  between  the  Assumption  of  Titian 
and  the  St.  Mark  of  Tintoretto.  As  for  the  fourth 
and  principal  "  Feast,"  The  Marriage  at  Cana,  it  re- 
mains at  Paris,  M.  Denon  having  succeeded  in  per- 
suading the  Austrian  commissioners  to  take,  in  ex- 
change for  it,  a  picture  by  Charles  Lebrun,  on  a  simi- 
lar subject,  the  Repas  chez  le  Pharisien. 


286  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ABT. 

There  are  then  at  Paris  two  of  the  four  great 
"  Feasts "  by  Veronese,  and  also  the  more  valuable 
two ;  for  while  the  Marriage  at  Cana  is  considered 
superior  to  the  others,  the  Feast  in  the  House  of 
Simon  the  Pharisee  is  the  best  preserved  of  the  four. 
The  celebrated  Marriage  at  Cana  is  about  thirty-two 
feet  in  length  by  twenty-two  in  height.  If  we  except 
a  few  grand  mural  paintings,  such  as  the  Last  Judg- 
ment by  the  elder  Orcagna  in  the  Campo  Santo  of 
Pisa,  that  of  Michael  Angelo  in  the  Sistine,  or  the 
great  ceiling  by  Tintoretto  in  the  palace  of  the  doges ; 
if  we  speak  merely  of  easel  pictures,  which  are  mov- 
able, this  Marriage  at  Cana,  by  Veronese,  is  I  believe 
the  largest  picture  ever  painted.  It  is  known  that 
under  pretence  of  these  festive  scenes  Paul  Veronese 
painted  simply  the  feasts  of  his  own  times,  with  the 
architecture  and  the  costumes  of  Venice  in  the  six- 
teenth century,  with  concerts,  dances,  pages,  children, 
fools,  dogs  and  cats,  fruits  and  flowers.  It  is  also 
known  that  the  persons  collected  in  these  vast  com- 
positions were  usually  portraits.  Thus,  among  the 
guests  in  the  Marriage  at  Cana,  around  Jesus  and 
Mary  and  the  servants,  who  with  joyful  surprise  find 
the  water  in  their  jars  turned  into  wine,  some  have 
recognized  or  thought  they  recognized,  Francis  I., 
Charles  V.,  the  Sultan  Soliman  I.,  Eleanor  of  Aus- 
tria, the  Queen  of  France,  Mary  Queen  of  England, 
the  Marquis  of  Guastalla,  the  Marquis  of  Pescara, 
the  celebrated  Vittoria  Colonna,  his  wife,  etc.  In 
the  group  of  musicians  placed  in  the  centre  of  the 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  287 

long  table,  in  the  shape  of  a  horse-shoe,  may  be  recog- 
nized with  more  certainty  Paul  Veronese  himself, 
dressed  in  white  silk,  seated,  and  playing  on  the  vio- 
loncello. Then  his  brother  Benedetto  Cagliari,  stand- 
ing with  a  goblet  in  his  hand  ;  then  Tintoretto  play- 
ing on  the  violin,  the  old  Titian  playing  on  the  dou- 
ble bass,  and  Bassano  (Jacopo  da  Ponte)  playing  on 
the  flute.  All  these  circumstances  certainly  increase 
the  historical  interest  of  the  picture.  But  it  may  be 
said,  that  by  taking  from  it  the  great  and  noble  quali- 
ties which  distinguish  a  poem  in  painting — in  which 
there  should  be  unity,  and  the  thought,  style,  and 
expression,  most  suitable  to  the  subject — they  per- 
haps place  these  great  paintings  of  Veronese  below 
similar  works  which  have  been  left  by  the  great  mas- 
ters of  Italy,  and  especially  of  Venice,  Leonardo  da 
Vinci,  Raphael,  Titian,  and  even  Tintoretto.  On  the 
other  hand  we  must  notice  that  the  enormous  size  of 
the  picture,  and  the  unusual  number  of  the  figures 
in  it,  constitute — in  the  disposition  of  the  groups  and 
the  variety  in  the  attitudes,  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  light  and  avoidance  of  confusion,  monotony,  and 
the  abuses  of  light  and  shade — such  difficulties  as 
appal  the  imagination.  Thus,  while  making  a  reser- 
vation for  the  style  of  conceiving  and  rendering  sub- 
jects, a  style  evidently  defective,  as  contrary  to  relig- 
ious sentiment  and  historic  truth,  even  taking  away 
the  Gospel  names,  to  call  them  simply  Venetian 
feasts,  we  cannot  praise  too  highly,  in  these  great 
works  of  Veronese,  the  sumptuous  and  magnificent 


288  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

elements  of  which  they  are  composed,  the  beauty  of 
the  architectural  framework,  the  truth  and  variety  of 
the  portraits,  the  elegance  of  the  ornaments,  the  cor- 
rectness of  the  drawing,  the  charm  and  vivacity  of 
his  silver  coloring  contrasted  with  the  gold  of  Titian 
and  the  purple  of  Tintoretto,  and  in  short  the  deep 
and  practical  knowledge  of  all  the  qualities  which 
form  the  art  of  painting.  "  Provided  that  the  scene 
represented  be  picturesque,"  says  M.  Oh.  Blanc,  "  it 
matters  little  whether  it  be  treated  according  to  the 
requirements  of  philosophy,  of  historical  truth,  or  of 
morality.  Paul  Veronese  is  not  either  a  philosopher, 
an  historian,  or  a  moralist ;  he  is  merely  a  painter, 
but  lie  is  a  great  painter." 

I  would  venture  to  say  that  he  is  rather  a  great 
decorator.  To  justify  this  opinion,  it  is  only  neces- 
sary to  compare  his  works  with  those  of  artists  of 
deeper  thought  and  more  powerful  execution,  with 
the  works  of  men  of  true  genius.  Such  a  comparison 
may  be  made  almost  everywhere ;  at  Paris,  with  all 
the  masterpieces  of  different  schools  which  surround 
his  two  vast  works  in  the  Louvre ;  at  Dresden,  with 
the  great  works  of  Raphael,  Correggio,  and  Holbein  ; 
and  lastly  at  London,  where  we  must  stop  a  few 
minutes.  Among  the  recent  acquisitions  of  the  Na- 
tional Gallery,  that  which  is  the  most  praised,  perhaps 
because  it  cost  the  most  money  (14,000£  it  is  said),  is 
the  Visit  of  Alexander  to  the  family  of  Darius.  I 
had  seen  this  large  painting  at  Venice,  in  the  Pisani 
palace,  in  which  it  had  remained  since  the  time  of 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  289 

the  painter ;  for  under  pretence  of  the  family  of 
Darius,  Veronese  merely  placed  together  the  portraits 
of  the  Pisani  family  in  the  rich  costumes  of  the  six- 
teenth century.  This  work  is  certainly  fine  ;  as  fine 
I  suppose  as  the  four  pictures  of  similar  form  to  this 
in  one  of  the  saloons  of  the  Dresden  Gallery  ;  as  fine 
even  as  that  in  which  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity  lead 
the  Concini  family  to  the  foot  of  the  Virgin's  throne. 
But  it  has  lost  much  by  having  changed  its  place,  by 
being  brought  near  pictures  of  higher  style  and 
deeper  character.  Certainly  Yeronese  is  a  great 
painter,  and  especially  a  skilful  and  brilliant  colorist. 
But  knowing  nothing  of  ideal  creations,  all  his  merits 
are  superficial ;  he  is,  almost  as  much  as  Caravaggio, 
the  antipodes  of  Raphael  amongst  the  Italians.  The 
merits  of  his  Family  of  Darius  are  all  on  the  surface. 
"  Even  in  the  Venetian  school,"  confesses  M.  Charles 
Blanc,  "there  could  not  be  found  a  picture  of  less 
significance,  nor  one  of  more  marvellous  execution." 
My  assertion  was  then  correct.  If,  after  having  con- 
templated and  even  admired  this  painting  in  the  place 
of  honor  which  has  been  given  it  in  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal rooms  of  the  National  Gallery,  the  visitor  turn 
to  the  other  side  of  the  room,  and  allow  his  eye  to 
rest  on  the  portraits  by  Rembrandt,  Yeronese  is  over- 
whelmed. 

After  the  three  great  Venetians  we  must  mention 
the  son  of  Titian,  Orazio  Vecellio ;    the  son  of  Tin- 
toretto, Domenico  Robusti,  the  son  of  Veronese,  Car- 
letto  Cagliari ;  who,  all  dying  in  the  flower  of  their 
19 


290  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    AET. 

age,  followed  in  the  steps  of  their  illustrious  fathers, 
as  Ascanius  followed  ^Eneas  at  the  burning  of  Troy, 
non  passibus  mquis.     We  must  also  mention  here  the 
greatest  pupils  of  Titian,   the  elder  Palma,   Palma 
Vecchio,  of  whose  birth  and  death  there  are  no  dates 
preserved,  who  was  almost  the  rival  of  his  master ; 
Bonifazio  Bembi  (about  1500  to  1562),  who  was  com- 
pletely eclipsed  by  Titian,  but  who  has  the  singular 
honor  of  his  works  being  continually  attributed  to 
Titian,  and  of  their  being  worthy  of  it ;  Morone,  the 
author  of  a  number  of  excellent  portraits ;  the  younger 
Palma  (il  Giovine,  1544-1628),  who  has  left  in  the 
museum  of  Venice  the  celebrated  apocalyptic  picture, 
11    Canal  delta  Morte  •   and   lastly  Paris    Bordone 
(1500-1570),  who  has  left  in  the  same  museum  a  still 
more  celebrated  work,  the  Fisherman  presenting  the 
Ring  of  St.  Mark  to  the  Doge.     We  might  add  to 
this  list  Lorenzo  Lotto,  who  remained  faithful  to  the 
warm  coloring  of  Giorgione;  Pordenone  (Giovanni 
Antonio   Licinio),    a  happy   imitator  of  the  silvery 
coloring  of  Veronese  ;    Schiavone  (Andrea  Medola), 
and  Vicentino  (Andrea  Micheli,  1539-1614),  who  has 
painted  such   curious   pictures  on  the  reception  of 
Henry  III.  at  Venice,  when  the  brother  of  Charles  IX. 
had  just  resigned  the  crown  of  Poland  in  order  to 
obtain  that  of  France.     But  we  have  only  room  to 
note  the  greatest  of  the  masters  and  the  most  cele- 
brated of  their  works.     We  must  then  go  back  in  the 
history  of. the  Venetian  school  in  order  to  find  SEBAS- 
TIAN DEL  PIOMBO  and  the  Bassano  family. 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  291 

Sebastiano  Luciani  (1485-1547)  was  surnamed  del 
Piombo  when  the  second  Medicean  pope,  Clement VII., 
nominated  him  keeper  of  the  piombi,  or  seals  of  the 
Roman  chancery.  Having  obtained  a  good  income 
through  an  office  which  was  really  a  sinecure,  by  a 
favor  which  the  popes  usually  granted  rather  to  their 
own  friends  than  to  artists,  Sebastian  only  thought 
of  enjoying  himself,  and  ceased  working.  He  had 
'  however  received  lessons  from  Giorgione  at  Venice 
and  from  Michael  Angelo  at  Rome,  that  is  to  say, 
from  the  greatest  masters  of  coloring  and  drawing. 
He  had  also  succeeded  in  uniting  the  style  of  his  two 
masters.  But  idleness,  carelessness,  and  good  living, 
gained  the  day  over  love  of  glory  and  even  love  of 
gain.  For  this  reason  the  works  of  Sebastian  del 
Piombo  are  still  rarer  than  those  of  Giorgione  him- 
self. The  Pitti  palace  possesses  a  large  and  fine  com- 
position, the  Martyrdom  of  St.  Agatha,  in  which 
may  be  seen,  in  equal  degrees,  a  style  at  once  noble 
and  severe,  and  the  vigorous  effects  of  chiaroscuro, 
those  two  qualities  which  so  seldom  are  found  to- 
gether, and  whose  union  forms  the  distinctive  merit 
of  an  artist  who  was  half  Venetian  and  half  Floren- 
tine in  his  style.  The  museum  of  Naples  is  more 
fortunate  in  possessing  excellent  portraits  of  the 
pope  Alexander  Farnese  and  Anne  Boleyn,  wife  of 
Henry  VIII.,  and  also  a  Holy  Family,  in  which  the 
young  St.  John  completes  the  group  of  the  Madonna 
and  Child.  It  has  it  is  true  been  placed  in  the  hall 
of  the  Capi  d?  opera  ;  but  it  should  have  been  placed 


292  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

opposite  the  other  Holy  Family  signed  by  Raphael. 
It  fully  deserves  the  honor  of  this  contest,  for  more 
vigorous  coloring  could  not  have  been  united  to  more 
correct  drawing  or  a  grander  style.  Mary  is  a  type 
of  masculine  and  severe  beauty,  which  it  would  be 
difficult  to  equal.  This  picture  must  fill  with  ad- 
miration all  those  who  are  not  led  away  by  brilliant 
colors  or  a  mannered  grace. 

In  London  also  may  be  seen  portraits  and  a  large 
composition  by  Sebastian  del  Piombo.  One  of  the 
portraits  is  thought  to  be  that  of  the  beautiful  and 
holy  Giulia  Gonzaga,  but  the  forms  are  rather  thick, 
and  the  proportions  are  probably  larger  than  nature. 
In  another  frame  are  the  portraits  of  the  cardinal  Ip- 
polito  de  Medici,  the  patron  of  the  artist,  and  of  Se- 
bastian himself,  holding  in  his  hand  thepiombo  or 
seal  of  his  office.  The  composition  is  the  Raising  of 
Lazarus.  This  last  picture  enjoys  a  great  celebrity. 
Having  come  from  the  collection  of  the  dukes  of  Or- 
leans, it  was  sold  in  1792,  by  Philippe  Egalite.  In 
the  catalogue  of  the  National  Gallery  it  is  marked 
No.  i,  as  it  was  in  some  degree  the  foundation  stone 
of  the  collection.  Its  history  alone  would  be  sufficient 
to  give  it  a  high  importance.  We  know  that  the 
Transfiguration  was  ordered  of  Raphael  by  the  car- 
dinal Giulio  de  Medici,  afterwards  Clement  Y1L,  for 
the  high  altar  in  the  cathedral  at  Narbonne,  of  which 
he  was  archbishop.  But,  not  wishing  to  deprive 
Rome  of  the  painter's  masterpiece,  Giulio  de  Medici 
ordered  of  Sebastian  del  Pioinbo  another  picture  of 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  293 

equal  dimensions  to  replace  it  at  Narbonne :  it  was 
this  liaising  of  Lazarus.  It  is  said  that  Michael 
Angelo,  charmed  to  see  another  rival  to  Raphael  arise, 
not  only  encouraged  Sebastian  in  the  contest,  but 
traced  the  whole  composition  and  even -painted  the 
figure  of  Lazarus.  ;'I  thank  Michael  Angelo,"  wrote 
Raphael,  "  for  the  honor  he  has  done  me  in  consider- 
ing me  worthy  to  strive  with  him,  and  not  with  Sebas- 
tian alone."  These  historical  circumstances  give 
much  interest  to  the  work  of  the  Venetian  ;  but  on 
the  other  hand  they  provoke  a  formidable  comparison, 
which  he  could  not  sustain,  and  which  perhaps  lessens 
his  real  value.  It  is  not  when  we  are  still  agitated 
with  enthusiasm  at  the  remembrance  of  that  work, 
which  is  considered  the  finest  work  of  painting,  that 
we  are  able  to  appreciate  justly  one  that  pretends  to 
equal  it.  In  the  Raising  of  Lazarus  we  see  a  rather 
confused  scene,  and  without  desiring  all  the  theatrical 
'arrangements  of  a  picture  by  Jouvenet,  we  may  wish 
that  it  possessed  rather  more  clearness  and  vivacity. 
The  details  are  liner  than  the  ensemble,  the  attitudes 
are  rather  varied  than  combined  with  a  view  to  the 
whole  subject ;  in  short,  it  is  a  collection  of  admirable 
parts  rather  than  an  admirable  composition.  The 
firm  drawing  of  Michael  Angelo  is  abused  in  it,  as 
well  as  the  violent  chiaroscuro  of  Giorgione,  which  real- 
ly seems  to  transform  all  the  personages  into  mulattoes ; 
we  might  almost  believe  that  the  scene  took  place  in 
Ethiopia.  The  perspective  also  is  cramped,  and  treat- 
ed somewhat  in  the  Chinese  fashion,  which  supposes 


294  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

the  spectator,  not  to  be  opposite,  but  above  tlie  sub- 
ject and  looking  clown  upon  it.  Certainly  this  work 
of  Sebastian  del  Piombo  is  noble,  learned,  and  of  a 
severe  and  imposing  style ;  but  I  do  not  hesitate  to 
prefer  to  it  the  Holy  Family,  at  Naples,  and  still  more 
the  Descent  into  Hades,  at  Madrid.  It  was  again  the 
Escurial  which  gave  this  fine  work  to  the  Museo  del 
Hey.  The  Descent  into  Hades  contains  fewer  figures 
than  the  Raising  of  Lazarus ;  but  there  are  no  faults 
of  coldness  in  the  composition,  of  exaggeration  in  the 
shadows,  or  of  narrowness  of  perspective.  The  style 
is  no  less  severe  and  imposing,  but  it  has  an  advan- 
tage over  the  other  in  the  scene  being  better  grouped, 
more  animated,  and  of  powerful  coloring,  worthy  in 
every  respect  of  Giorgione,  and  perfectly  in  accordance 
with  the  subject.  This  magnificent  Christ  in  Hades 
seems  to  me  to  present,  in  its  highest  expression,  the 
severe  and  vigorous  style  of  Sebastian  del  Fiombo. 

The  name  of  Bassano,  a  small  town  in  the  north 
of  Italy,  has  been  given  to  a  numerous  family  of  paint- 
ers, who  were  natives  of  the  place :  first  Francesco 
da  Fonte,  il  Yecchio,  then  his  son  Jacopo,  then  his  four 
grandsons,  Francesco,  Leandro,  Giam-Battista,  and 
Girolamo.  But  Jacopo  da  Ponte  ( 1510-1592),  the 
most  celebrated  of  the  six,  the  pupil  of  Titian  through 
Bonifazio,  he  who  was  the  founder  of  a  small  school, 
and  who  obtained  the  honor  of  being  the  first  genre 
painter  in  Italy,  is  the  one  usually  termed  THE  BAS- 
SANO. 

He  cannot  be  known  or  appreciated  well  in  Italy 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  295 

or  in  France ;  it  is  at  Madrid  we  must  seek  him,  for 
Titian  sent  his  best  works  to  Charles  Y.  and  Philip  II. 
There  are  from  eight  to  ten  in  the  Museo  del  Rey, 
most  of  them  of  the  large  size  he  principally  adopted, 
and  on  subjects  which  suit  wonderfully  the  habit  he 
had  of  introducing  animals  everywhere,  so  as  to  turn 
a  drawing-room  or  a  temple  into  a  farmyard.  With 
him  animals  constitute  the  principal  part  of  the  com- 
position. One  of  these  subjects  chosen  by  him  is  the 
Entrance  into  the  Ark,  in  which  all  kinds  of  living 
creatures  on  the  earth,  in  the  air,  and  in  the  water, 
advance  in  couples  towards  the  floating  dwelling  of 
Noah,  like  an  army  marching  in  double  file,  in  a  thou- 
sand uniforms.  Another  is  the  Leaving  the  ArJc, 
which  is  only  a  pendant  of  the  other,  though  its  sub- 
ject is  of  smaller  dimensions  and  of  less  importance. 
We  might  also  mention  a  View  of  Eden,  in  which  the 
Almighty  reproaches  our  first  parents  with  their  dis- 
obedience, the  subject  being  a  mere  pretext  for  assem- 
bling around  them  all  the  animal  races;  on  Orpheus 
attracting  even  wild  beasts  by  the  sounds  of  his  lyre ;  a 
Journey  of  Jacob,  a  picture  of  beasts  of  burden,  camels, 
horses,  asses  and  mules,  etc.  The  style  of  Bassano  is 
more  elevated  in  his  Moses  and  the  Hebrews,  which 
represents  the  people  resuming  their  march  after  the 
miracle  of  the  water  gushing  from  the  rock  ;  but  he 
attained  the  highest  grandeur  in  the  painting  of 
Christ  driving  tlie  Money- Changers  from  the  Temple. 
This  picture,  taken  from  the  Escurial,  and  in  which 
his  much-loved  animals  come  in  quite  naturally,  is 


296  WONDERS   OF    ITALIAN   AET.  • 

perhaps  the  finest  of  all  the  works  of  Bassano.  Never 
has  he  shown  himself  more  ingenious  and  animated 
in  the  composition,  more  natural  and  brilliant  in  the 
coloring  ;  and  never  has  he  displayed  more  fully  the 
various  qualities  of  the  painter  who  first  introduced 
into  Italy  the  worship  of  simple  nature  and  painted 
scenes  of  real  life.  He  was  the  forerunner  of  the 
Dutch  school. 

We  must  now  pass  by  all  the  painters  of  the  time  of 
the  Venetian  decadence,  including  even  Tiepolo  and  his 
warm  sketches,  to  come  to  another  genre-painter, 
Antonio  Canale  (169 7-1 768), usually  called  CANALETTO, 
or  Canaletti.  He  constituted  himself  portrait-painter, 
not  of  the  Yenetians,  but  of  Venice.  He  confined 
himself  to  painting  the  exterior  of  Venice,  its  squares, 
churches,  palace?,  bridges,  and  the  cana^  which  form 
the  streets.  He  never  leads  the  spectator  into  the 
interior  of  the  buildings,  or  into  the  life  of  the  inhab- 
itants. But  lie  has  left  different  views  of  his  native 
town  under  every  aspect,  with  so  much  truth,  talent, 
and  love,  that  if  ever  the  discrowned  queen  of  the 
Adriatic  were  to  be  engulfed  in  the  marshes,  she  might 
yet  be  known  by  his  pictures. 

It  is  strange  that  the  native  country  of  Canaletto 
has  not  preserved  any  of  his  works,  not  even  the  two 
Views,  which  were  seen  there  in  1739  by  the  presi- 
dent de  Brosses,  and  whose  author  he  calls  Carnava- 
letto.  There  is  no  doubt  that,  having  Venice  itself 
before  them,  the  Venetians  thought  it  useless  to  have 
views  of  it.  We  must  go  as  far  as  Naples  to  find  a 


VENETIAN    SCHOOL.  297 

valuable  series  of  twelve  Views  of  Venice,  all  of  the 
same  size,  and  treated  with  that  fulness  and  delicacy 
for  which  their  author  is  known.  His  works  are  dis- 
persed over  all  Europe,  and  are  often  to  be  found  in 
the  cabinets  of  amateurs,  for  which  they  are  espe- 
cially adapted  by  the  smallness  of  the  canvas,  the 
beauty  of  the  subjects,  and  the  perfection  of  the  exe- 
cution. Fifty  years  ago  there  were  none  of  them  to 
be  found  in  the  Louvre.  It  was  in  1818  that  this 
museum  acquired  one  of  Canaletto's  masterpieces : 
A  View  of  the  Church  of  the  Madonna  della  Salute, 
built  from  the  designs  of  the  architect  Longheno,  on 
the  cessation  of  the  plague  in  1630.  There  are  few 
pictures  by  this  master  so  large  as  this,  and  still  fewer 
as  beautiful  ;  perhaps  no  other  can  equal  this  admira- 
ble view  of  La  Salute.  It  is  alone  sufficient  to  secure 
a  right  estimation  of  this  master. 

Under  the  common  name  of  Canaletto,  the 
nephew  of  Antonio  Canale,  Bernardo  Belotto,  is 
usually  confounded  with  him.  But  Belotto  did  not 
remain  stationary  at  Venice  ;  he  travelled  much,  and 
has  left  numerous  works  in  England,  at  Munich, 
Vienna,  Dresden,  St.  Petersburg,  and  at  Warsaw, 
where  he  died  in  1780.  The  school  of  Antonio  Ca- 
nale is  completed  by  the  distinguished  and  elegant 
works  of  his  pupil  Francesco  Guardi  (1712-179-3), 
who,  even  while  imitating  his  master,  is  yet  original 
and  celebrated.  Guardi  far  surpassed  him  in  variety 
and  movement ;  he  was,  perhaps,  the  greater  paint- 
er, if  Canaletto  was  the  greater  architect.  With 


298  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

him,  in  his  limited  but  charming  speciality,  termi- 
nated the  great  school  inaugurated  by  Bellini,  and 
rendered  celebrated  by  Giorgione,  Titian,  Tintoretto, 
Paul  Yeronese,  and  Sebastian  del  Piombo. 

/ 
BOLOGNESE  SCHOOL. 

If  in  the  Bolognese  School  we  follow  the  same 
method  as  in  the  Venetian,  passing  by  rapidly  the 
essays  in  painting,  and  the  precursors  of  the  great 
masters,  we  must  ascribe  the  foundation  of  this  school 
to  Francesco  Raibolini,  usually  called  FRANCIA  (about 
1451  to  1517).  At  first  a  goldsmith,  engraver  of 
medals  and  director  of  the  mint,  Francia,  who  studied 
secretly  under  the  old  Marco  Zoppo,  suddenly  pro- 
duced before  the  astonished  eyes  of  his  contempora- 
ries an  excellent  painting,  which  he.  had  modestly 
signed  Franciscus  Francia  aurifex.  This  was  in 
1490,  and  the  new  artist  was  almost  forty  years  of 
age.  The  well-merited  praises  he  received  for  this 
picture  induced  him  to  add  the  profession  of  a  paint- 
er to  that  of  a  goldsmith,  which,  nevertheless,  he 
still  carried  on,  signing  his  works  in  gold  by  the 
name  of  Francia  pictor.  He  became  also  a  master, 
and  the  two  or  three  generations  of  artists  who  suc- 
ceeded him,  make  up  the  Bolognese  school.  But  his 
style,  as  we  shall  sec,  was  completely  changed  by  the 
Carracci.  There  is  not  yet  a  single  certain  work  of 
Fruncia  in  the  Louvre  ;  and  hence  this  old  painter 
has  not  received  in  France  all  the  consideration  to 


BOLOGNESE   SCHOOL.  290 

which  he  is  entitled.  In  order  to  make  him  better 
known  and  appreciated,  I  do  not  think  I  could  do 
better  than  quote  the  opinion  of  Raphael,  who,  in  a 
letter  written  in  1508,  compares  Francia  to  his  mas- 
ter, Perugino,  and  the  Venetian  Giovanni  Bellini. 
He  is  indeed  their  equal,  both  from  the  merit  of  his 
works  and  also  from  having  founded  a  great  school. 
.Raphael  had  the  highest  opinion  of  Francia ;  be 
loved  him,  consulted  him,  and  often  wrote  to  him, 
and  when  he  sent  his  St.  Cecilia  to  Bologna,  modest- 
ly begged  Francia  to  correct  any  defects  he  might 
find  in  it.  It  is  not  known  on  what  Vasari  founded 
his  assertion  that  the  old  man  died  of  grief  and  jeal- 
ousy on  seeing  the  superiority  of  the  young  man's 
work.  Vasari  was  mistaken.  Francia  lived  for  sev- 
eral years  after  the  arrival  of  the  St.  Cecilia  in  his 
native  town,  as  the  Bolognese  Malvasia,  the  author 
of  the  Felsina  pittrice,  has  proved,  thus  vindicating 
his  illustrious  fellow-citizen  from  the  careless  accusa- 
tion of  the  Florentine. 

The  Pinacotheca  (this  Greek  name  was  given  to 
the  Museum  of  Bologna  long  before  the  king  of  Ba- 
varia, Ludwig  I.,  gave  it  to  the  Museum  of  Munich) 
contains  six  important  works  by  Francia.  We  mu&t 
mention  in  particular  a  Nativity,  in  the  manger  at 
Bethlehem,  where  there  are  grouped  around  the  Vir- 
gin-mother not  only  several  angels,  and  some  saints 
who  lived  long  after  the  event,  but  also  Antonio 
Galea  Bentivoglio,  the  son  of  John  II.,  who  ordered 
the  picture,  and  the  poet  Pandolfi  de  Casio,  crowned 


300  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

with  laurels,  who,  perhaps,  had  sung  of  him  in  his 
poems.  We  must  also  mention  a  Glorified  Madon- 
na, whose  throne  is  surrounded  by  St.  Augustine,  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi,  St.  John  the  Baptist,  St.  Proculus 
the  warrior,  St.  Sebastian,  St.  Monica,  and  a  certain 
Bartolomeo  Felicini,  who  had  ordered  the  picture. 
This  last  work  is  signed  Opus  FrancicB  aurificis.  It 
speaks  more  in  favor , of  its  author  than  the  others, 
for  it  is  easy  to  make  the  comparison  suggested  by 
Raphael.  Near  this  picture  is  one  by  Perugino,  on 
the  same  subject,  a  Madonna  worshipped  by  St. 
Catherine,  the  Archangel  Michael,  John  the  Baptist, 
and  St.  Apollonius.  It  is  one  of  the  finest  works  of 
the  much-loved  master  of  .Raphael,  and  was  as  such 
selected  to  be  brought  to  the  Louvre,  when  Italy  was 
a  province  of  the  French  empire,  and  conquest  gave 
the  right  or  the  power  to  take  from  it  the  master- 
pieces of  all  ages.  Let  any  one  take  the  pains  to 
compare  attentively  these  two  analogous  works,  and 
it  will  be  soon  allowed  that  Francia  deserves  the  high 
renown  which  he  has  attained.  According  to  Ra- 
phael, he  formed  an  intermediate  school  between 
those  of  Florence  and  Venice,  between  Perugino  and 
Bellini,  by  uniting  form  and  color. 

The  National  Gallery  has  not  only  one  of  those 
Glorified  Madonnas,  which  were  a  favorite  subject 
with  the  old  master,  and  indeed  with  painters  of 
every  time ;  it  also  possesses  a  second  work  which, 
although  of  small  dimensions  and  ungraceful  form, 
seems  to  me  at  least  equal  to  the  oilier,  because  it  is 


BOLOGNESE    SCHOOL.  301 

a  less  common  subject  for  Francia.  This  is  a  Dead 
Christ,  whose  body,  extended  the  whole  length  of  the 
frame,  rests  on  the  knees  of  His  mother,  who  is  in  the 
centre.  Two  kneeling  angels  fill  the  corners.  In  this 
picture  the  style  and  expression  are  admirable.  And 
what  gives  it  the  greatest  merit  is,  I  believe,  the  pow- 
erful coloring,  rare  even  in  this  master,  who  was  more 
of  a  colorist  than  his  contemporaries.  At  Munich 
also  there  are  several  fine  Madonnas  by  Francia,  and 
at  Dresden,  among  several  other  pictures,  may  be 
noticed  a  Baptism  of  Christ,  dated  1508.  Jesus 
only  places  His  feet  on  the  water,  as  He  did  later 
when  calling  St.  Peter  to  Him  in  order  to  prove  his 
faith.  His  figure  is  long  and  thin,  as  is  also  that  of 
St.  John,  like  the  figures  of  Perugino,  Bellini,  Citna, 
and  all  the  masters  of  that  time.  But  this  Baptism, 
a  great  and  lofty  composition,  may  be  considered  one 
of  the  best  works  of  Raphael's  old  friend.  In  the 
Louvre  the  half-length  portrait  of  a  young  man 
clothed  in  black,  which  until  lately  was  ascribed  to 
Raphael,  is  now  thought  to  have  been  the  work  of 
Francia.  Some  of  those  who  had  the  arrangement 
of  the  museum  thought  that  there  was  a  certain  seek- 
ing after  effect,  and  strength  of  chiaroscuro,  ap- 
proaching to  the  energetic  style  of  Giorgione  and 
Sebastian  del  Piombo,  which  did  not  allow  this  paint- 
ing to  be  attributed  to  Raphael.  But  why  ascribe  it 
to  Francia?  Born  more  than  thirty  years  before 
Raphael,  and  dying  three  years  before  him,  Francia, 
far  from  affecting  great  effects  of  chiaroscuro,  always 


302  WONDERS   OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

remained  more  simple  in  his  style  than  the  author  of 
the  Madonna  della  Sedia  and  of  the  Transfigura- 
tion. After  having  seen  the  authentic  works  of 
Francia  in  all  the  galleries  of  Europe,  and  learnt  his 
particular  characteristics,  it  is  scarcely  possible  to 
accept  him  as  the  author  of  the  portrait  in  question  ; 
and  if  the  Louvre  had  possessed  any  other  of  his 
works  with  which  this  might  have  been  compared,  no 
one  would  probably  have  dreamed  of  ascribing  this 
to  him. 

Francia,  as  Raphael  says,  resembles  both  Peru- 
gino  and  Bellini.  It  was  not  he,  then,  who  founded 
the  true  Bolognese  school,  such  as  it  is  understood  in 
the  history  of  art,  and  which  was  really  a  renovation 
of  the  whole  of  Italian  art.  The  Carracci  founded  it 
a  century  later.  We  may  take  up  the  question  so 
many  times  asked,  "  Was  this  a  decay  or  a  progress 
in  art?  "  To  reply  with  truth  and  justice,  we  must 
first  understand  how  the  question  is  put,  and  also 
how  it  is  to  be  decided.  Certainly,  if  we  compare 
the  period  of  the  Oarracci  with  the  great  age  of 
painting  which  extends  from  the  beginning  of  the 
artistic  career  of  Leonardo  da  Vinci  to  the  close  of 
the  life  of  Titian,  and  of  which  Raphael  is  the  cen- 
tre; if  we  notice  that  the  disciples  of  this  school  sub- 
stituted for  simple  unstudied  inspiration  niere  calcu- 
lation and  acquired  talent ;  that  they  abandoned  the 
simple  and  perhaps  somewhat  uniform  style  of  the 
Florentine  school,  to  which  Francia  and  his  imme- 
diate disciples  belonged,  to  adopt  the  eclectic  style, 


BOLOGNESE    SCHOOL.  305 

that  of  universal  imitation  ;  that  in  lieu  of  purity  of 
form  and  power  of  expression,  they  aimed  at  grand 
and  picturesque  effect — we  should  have  to  reply,  that 
it  was  a  decay.  But  if  we  compare  this  time  of  the 
Carracci  with  that  which  had  immediately  preceded 
it ;  if  we  remember,  on  the  one  hand,  the  abuses  of 
that  free  and  hasty  manner  which,  succeeding  to  the 
grand  fulness  of  the  great  Venetians,  neglected  every 
serious  study  to  give  attention  only  to  the  handling 
of  the  brush  ;  on  the  other  hand  the  still  more  de- 
plorable abuse  of  the  startling  innovations  of  Michael 
Angelo  into  which  all  his  imitators  fell,  who,  recall- 
ing the  ancient  Etruscans,  saw  in  nature  nothing  but 
exaggerated  force,  foreshorten  ings,  contortions,  and 
who  represented  the  nude  as  said  Leonardo  da  Yinci, 
"  more  like  a  bag  of  walnuts  or  a  bunch  of  radishes 
than  like  human  nature  ;  "  then  we  must  reply  that 
it  was  indeed  progress.  It  was  at  all  events  a  sensi- 
ble, if  not  a  complete,  return  to  the  really  beautiful  ; 
it  was  a  revival  in  art.  Is  it  necessary  to  support 
this  opinion  by  a  regular  demonstration  ?  It  will 
suffice  to  quote  as  proofs  the  works  which  issued  from 
the  school  of  the  Carracci,  the  works  both  of  the 
masters  and  of  disciples  still  greater  than  their  mas- 
ters. 

LUDOVICO  CARRACCI  (1555-1619)  was  the  real 
founder  of  this  school,  for  he  directed  the  studies  of 
his  two  cousins,  Agostino  and  Annibal,  before  calling 
on  them  to  help  in  the  direction  of  his  Academy 
degli  Desiderosi  ("  Those  who  regret  the  past,  despise 
20 


306  WONDEKS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

the  present,  and  aspire  to  a  better  future  ").  It  is  a 
striking  proof  how,  even  in  the  arts,  assiduous  labor 
and  a  strong  and  persevering  will  may  serve  in  place 
of  natural  gifts  and  instinctive  facility.  The  two 
masters  whom  he  had  ehosen,  Fontana  of  Bologna 
and  Tintoretto  of  Venice,  counselled  him  to  abandon 
the  career  of  an  artist,  considering  him  incapable  of 
ever  succeeding  in  it ;  and  his  fellow-students  called 
him  the  Ox,  not  because  he  was  the  son  of  a  butcher, 
but  on  account  of  the  slowness  and  heaviness  of  his 
mind,  and  also  because  of  his  continual  determined 
and  indefatigable  application.  I  cannot  resist  re- 
minding my  readers  here  that  Thomas  Aquinas  was 
called  the  silent  Ox  before  becoming  the  Angel  of  the 
School;  and  that  Bossuet  in  his  youth  received  the 
same  surname  from  his  companions ;  he  was  also 
called,  by  a  play  on  his  name,  Bos  suetus  aratro. 
That  ox  accustomed  to  the  plough  became  the  Eagle 
of  Meaux,  and  all  three,  Carracci,  Thomas  Aquinas, 
and  Bossuet,  proved  beforehand  the  correctness  of 
the  definition  which  Buffon  has  given  of  genius  :  u  A 
great  power  of  attention." 

The  painters  of  the  Bolognese  school  have  now 
declined  much  from  their  celebrity,  which  was  not 
only  contemporary  with  them,  but  lasted  until  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century.  They  had  been 
raised  too  high  ;  perhaps  now  they  are  too  much  de- 
preciated. It  reminds  us  of  the  just  and  profound 
saying  of  Horace  Wai  pole :  "  The  bad  taste  which 
precedes  good  taste  is  better  than  the  bad  taste  which 


BOLOGNESE    SCHOOL.  307 

follows  it ;  "  and  we  prefer  the  simple  old  masters  of 
the  first,  the  true  Renaissance,  to  the  Bolognese. 
Whether  just  or  too  severe,  this  opinion  will  shorten 
our  labor,  and  enable  us  to  dispense  with  long  and 
minute  details. 

We  shall  find  works  of  all  the  Bolognese  school  in 
the  Museum  of  Bologna.  There  are  as  many  aa 
twelve  works  by  Ludovico  Carracci  in  his  native 
town,  such  as  a  Glorified  Madonna  surrounded  by 
the  Bargellini  family,  etc.  In  general  they  are  of 
larger  proportions  than  life,  according  to  his  constant 
custom  for  church  pictures,  and  do  not  show  to  ad- 
vantage when  taken  from  the  height  for  which  they 
were  destined  and  ranged  against  walls.  In  the 
place  of  real  genius  we  find  in  them  great  and  solid 
qualities,  and,  if  not  a  complete  return  to  the  simple 
and  severe  style  of  the  great  period,  at  least  the 
happy  abandonment  of  the  excesses,  the  abuses,  and 
egregious  faults  in  taste  which,  in  the  intermediate 
period,  had  marked  a  precocious  decay.  The  eldest 
of  his  cousins,  AGOSTINO  CARRACCI  (1557-1602),  is 
represented  by  two  great  compositions,  an  Assump- 
tion and  a  Communion  of  St.  Jerome,  which  were 
both  brought  for  a  time  to  Paris.  These  are  perhaps 
the  finest  works  of  this  learned  and  conscientious 
artist,  at  first  a  goldsmith,  like  Francia,  then  an  en- 
graver under  the  lessons  of  Cornelius  Cort,  and  after- 
wards a  professor  in  the  academy  of  his  cousin  Ludo- 
vico. Death  too  soon  removed  him  from  the  study 
and  teaching  of  an  art  of  which  he  would  have  been 


308  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

a  worthy  interpreter.  It  was  from  his  Communion 
of  St.  Jerome  that  Domenichino  took  the  idea  and 
even  the  details  for  his  well-known  work,  the  pendant 
for  the  Transfiguration  in  the  Vatican  and  (in  mo- 
saic) in  St.  Peter's  at  Rome.  If  Domenichino  sur- 
passed the  young  Carracci,  it  was  by  making  use  of 
the  subject  and  ideas  chosen  by  him ;  he  only  van- 
quished by  imitating  him. 

As  for  the  fertile  ANNIBAL  CARRACCI  (1560-1609) 
he  was  the  boldest  of  the  three,  the  most  original  in 
a  style  that  imitated  every  one,  and  during  a  life  less 
than  fifty  years  in  length  his  works  were  very  numer- 
ous. There  are  twenty-six  of  his  works  in  the  Louvre 
alone.  This  is  much— too  much,  and  we  cannot  even 
name  them  all.  It  is  enough  that  among  the  sacred 
subjects  we  recommend  a  large  Appearance  of  the 
Virgin  to  St.  Luke  and  St.  Catherine,  in  the  form, 
manner,  and  colossal  proportions  of  the  pictures  of 
Ludovico  Carracci,  though,  perhaps,  in  a  grander 
style  and  more  vigorous  execution  ;  then  a  charming 
Madonna,  called  the  Vierge  aux  Cerises  /  then  an- 
other Madonna  still  more  charming,  called  the  Silence 
of  Carracci,  because  Mary  watches  over  her  sleeping 
child  ;  then  a  Resurrection,  half  the  size  of  life  ;  and 
a  Martyrdom  of  St.  Stephen  in  small  figures  ;  so  that 
every  possible  proportion  is  represented,  and  each 
with  the  execution  required.  We  may  also  recom- 
mend to  the  attention  of  our  readers  two  animated 
landscapes,  and  two  pendants  called  La  Chasse  and 
La  Peche.  They  are  valuable  works  although  very 


THE   THREE    MARYS.-RY   ANNIBAL    CARRACCI. 

At  Castle.  Howard. 


BOLOGNE8K   SCHOOL.  .          311 

dark,  because,  in  their  style,  their  form,  and  their 
treatment,  they  recall  the  six  celebrated  Lunettes  in 
the  Doria  palace  at  Rome,  and  because  they  also 
prove  that  it  was  indeed  Annibale  Carracci,  who  im- 
parted, first  to  Domenichino,  and  through  him  to 
Poussin,  the  idea  and  example  of  historical  landscape. 
We  owe  him  then,  in  this  particular,  gratitude  as  well 
as  admiration. 

To  find  the  best  works  of  the  pupils  of  the  Car- 
racci, we  must  return  to  Bologna.  The  first  of  these 
is  DOMENICHINO  (Domenico  Zampieri,  1581-1641). 
As  it  was  first  rendered  celebrated  by  a  family  of 
goldsmiths,  that  of  the  Francia  (Raibolini),  the  Bo- 
lognese  school  seems  to  have  been  kept  up  by  arti- 
zans.  Ludovico  Carracci  was  the  son  of  a  butcher  ; 
Agostino  and  Annibal  were,  like  Andrea  del  Sarto, 
the  sons  of  a  tailor ;  their  best  pupil  was,  like  Ma- 
saccio,  the  son  of  a  shoemaker.  It  would  seem  that 
his  humble  origin  left  him  an  unconquerable  timid- 
ity, which  betrays  itself  in  the  general  character  of 
his  works  as  well  as  in  his  own  character  and  the 
actions  of  his  life.  It  is  loftiness  of  style  as  well  as 
of  character  that  is  wanting  in  Domenichino.  This 
loftiness  of  style  is  scarcely  found  in  any  of  his 
works,  except  in  those  which  do  not  entirely  belong 
to  him,  but  which  he  copied  from  his  predecessors, 
such  as  the  Murder  of  /St.  Peter  of  Verona,  taken 
from  Titian,  and  merely  altered  ;  and  the  Communion 
of  St.  Jerome,  after  Agostino  Carracci.  We  need  not 
speak  of  the  former  painting,  which  is  at  Bologna, 


312  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

and  is  placed  near  two  other  large  works,  the  Mar- 
tyrdom of  St.  Agnes  and  the  Madonna  of  the  Ro- 
sary, both  brought  to  Paris  under  the  Empire.  It  is 
well  known  to  what  comparative  perfection  this  mas- 
ter, patient,  laborious,  thoughtful,  yet  often  unequal 
and  always  dissatisfied  with  himself,  carried  the  art 
of  composition,  correctness  of  drawing,  strength  of 
coloring,  grace  of  attitude,  and  even  nobility  of  ex- 
pression. Raphael  Mengs  considered  that  he  only 
required  a  little  more  elegance  to  place  him  in  the 
foremost  rank  of  painters  ;  but  we  must  confess  that 
Mengs  had  a  decisive  reason  for  placing  Domenichino 
so  high  :  his  own  style  resembled  that  of  this  master. 
The  Martyrdom  of  St.  Agnes  contains  in  the  highest 
degree  all  the  qualities  for  which  Domeiiicbino  is 
noted.  One  of  these  is  not  common  even  among 
masters.  It  frequently  happens  that  the  principal 
personage  in  a  composition  is  not  sufficiently  superior 
to  the  others,  but  is  almost  effaced  by  accessory  fig- 
ures ;  in  short,  the  painter  becomes  weakest  exactly 
where  he  should  have  been  strongest.  Here  St. 
Agnes  is  in  every  way  the  principal  figure  in  the 
picture. 

The  Madonna  of  the  Rosary  is  also  superior  in 
the  finished  beauty  of  the  details ;  for  example,  the 
old  man  in  chains  in  the  foreground  is-  a  masterpiece 
of  true,  pathetic,  and  deep  feeling.  This  allegorical, 
I  had  almost  said  affected  composition,  is  perhaps 
wanting  in  good  sense  and  in  clearness ;  but  it  should 
be  said  in  excuse  for  Domenichino  that  its  subject 


THE  LAST  COMMUNION  OF  SAINT  JEROME.— BY  DOMENICIIINO. 
In  the  Vatican,  Rome. 


BOLOGNESE   SCHOOL.  315 

was  chosen,  and  in  some  degree  commanded  of  him 
by  the  mystical  Cardinal  Agucchi,  his  only  protector, 
his  friend,  to  whom  he  could  not  refuse  this  mark  of 
deference  and  gratitude.  In  Rome  we  shall  find  the 
beautiful  fresco  paintings  by  Domenichino,  on  the  life 
of  St.  Cecilia,  in  a  chapel  belonging  to  the  church  of 
San  Luigi  de  Francesi.  When  Raphael's  Transfig- 
uration still  hung  in  the  nave  of  St.  Peter's  it  had  as 
a  pendant  Domenichino's  Last  Communion  of  St. 
Jerome.  The  mosaics  which  replaced  them  are  still 
on  either  side  of  the  high  altar,  and  the  two  pictures 
having  been  together  at  Paris,  are  now  placed  in  the 
same  room  in  the  Vatican.  They  may  be  said  to 
share  the  throne  of  art.  This  would  appear  too  great 
an  honor  for  the  work  of  Domenichino,  produced  in 
a  time  when  the  decay  in  art,  already  manifest,  was 
on  the  eve  of  becoming  complete  ;  and  yet  in  some 
respect  the  honor  is  not  unmerited,  for  Domenichino, 
who  preserved  a  purer  taste  than  his  contemporaries, 
knew  also  how  to  avail  himself  skilfully  of  those 
material  aids  recently  introduced  by  his  school. 

We  have  already  mentioned  that  the  subject  of 
the  Last  Communion  of  St.  Jerome  was  taken  from 
Agostino  Carracci,  perhaps  by  the  advice  of  Annibal. 
Domenichino  has  done  little  more  than  reproduce  the 
scene,  giving  it,  however,  more  of  amplitude,  and 
above  all  a  greater  charm.  The  just  reproach  of  pla- 
giarism would  alone  be  sufficient  to  place  his  work 
much  below  that  of  Raphael.  We  might  also  criti- 
cise the  rather  singular  nudity  of  the  old  saint, 


316  WON  DEES    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

crouching  under  a  portico  in  the  open  air,  whilst  all 
those  around  him  are  fully  clothed ;  and  also  the 
resigned,  angelic  mildness,  which  the  painter  has 
given  to  the  fiery  doctor  of  the  Latin  church,  one  of 
the  roost  militant  of  all  the  fathers  ;  but  these  criti- 
cisms would  be  rather  those  of  an  historian  than  of 
an  artist.  To  the  latter  it  would  be  a  more  just 
ground  of  astonishment  that  the  little  angels  flying 
to  the  top  of  the  portico  are  as  firm  and  real  as  tha 
actors  in  the  scene.  Domenichino  might  have  en- 
deavored to  give  them  that  airy,  impalpable  delicacy 
with  which  Murillo  knew  so  well  how  to  surround 
allegorical  figures  and  messengers  from  heaven.  But 
with  these  restrictions,  we  must  allow  that  there  are 
few  pictures  to  be  found  in  the  world  in  which  may 
be  seen  an  equal  amount  of  wi&dom  in  the  composi- 
tion, grandeur  in  the  arrangement,  complete  unity  of 
action,  and,  but  for  a  little  heaviness  always  to  be 
found  in  Domenichino's  works,  great  perfection  in  the 
execution.  It  was  some  time  before  justice  was  ren- 
dered to  this  magnificent  work.  Raphael  received 
for  the  Transfiguration  a  sum  equivalent  to  about 
320^.  of  our  money,  and  it  was  not  too  much.  More 
than  a  century  later,  when  a  king  of  Portugal  offered 
forty  thousand  sequins  for  the  /St.  Jerome  of  Correg- 
gio,  the  poor  shoemaker's  son  of  Bologna,  always  un- 
fortunate and  oppressed,  only  received  fifty  Roman 
scudi  (about  ten  guineas)  for  his  St.  Jerome,  and  a 
little  later  he  had  the  mortification  of  seeing  double 
this  Bum  paid  for  a  very  inferior  copy  of  his  paint- 


BOLOGNESE    SCHOOL.  317 

ing.  It  was  Poussin  who  first  understood  this  pic- 
ture, drew  it  from  the  convent  of  San  Girolamo  della 
Carita,  and  assigned  it  the  eminent  position  it  now 
occupies. 

It  appears  to  me  that  the  other  illustrious  disciple 
of  the  Carracci,  GUIDO  RENI  (1575-1642),  notwith- 
standing his  pride  and  boastfulness,  did  not  attain  the 
same  greatness  as  his  fellow-disciple,  the  modest  Do- 
menichino.  But  in  a  longer,  more  peaceful,  and 
more  honored  life,  Guido  was  more  fertile.  Perhaps, 
also,  his  works  were  more  uniform — at  all  events, 
during  the  first  part  of  his  career  as  an  artist,  before 
he  adopted  the  pale,  chalky  style  he  used  afterwards, 
believing  doubtless  that  he  thus  approached  nearer  to 
Paul  Veronese,  whom  he  admired  passionately.  This 
manner,  which  wa.=  much  more  rapid,  furnished  him 
with  more  resources  to  feed  the  frantic  passion  for 
gambling,  which,  in  his  old  age,  brought  him  to  mis- 
ery, abandonment,  and  contempt.  The  most  impor- 
tant of  all  his  works  is  the  Madonna  della  Pietd  in 
the  museum  of  Bologna.  This  singular  and  immense 
composition  was  ordered  of  him  as  an  ex-voto,  by  the 
senate  of  his  native  town,  who  rewarded  him  by  add- 
ing to  the  price  agreed  on  a  gold  chain  and  medal. 
This  picture  is  divided  into  two  distinct  parts,  which 
might  easily  be  separated.  In  the  upper  compart- 
ment the  body  of  Christ  is  represented,  lying  over 
the  sepulchre,  between  two  weeping  angels  ;  Mary  is 
opposite,  looking  down  on  "the  scene  :  from  this  arises 
the  name  of  the  picture.  In  the  lower  compartment 


318  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN   ART. 

five  saints  are  kneeling  in  a  sort  of  ecstasy  ;  these  are 
St.  Petronius,  patron  of  Bologna,  St.  Proculus,  St. 
Dominic,  and  the  saint  then  most  recently  canonized, 
St.  Charles  Borromeo.  The  variety  of  their  costumes, 
united  to  that  of  their  attitudes,  takes  away  the  mo- 
notony that  a  group  thus  arranged  might  otherwise 
have  produced.  At  the  bottom  of  the  picture  may 
be  perceived,  between  four  little  angels,  a  view  of 
Bologna,  flanked  with  bastions  and  walls  that  no 
longer  exist,  amongst  which  rise  the  tower  of  the 
Asinelli  and  the  leaning  tower,  still  to  be  seen.  This 
great  work  contains  in  the  highest  degree  the  distinc- 
tive qualities  of  Guido — nobility  and  elegance  of 
composition,  delicacy  of  coloring,  harmonious  distri- 
bution of  lights,  in  short,  every  merit  of  an  eminent- 
ly graceful  style,  which  was  the  opposite  to  and  as  it 
were  a  criticism  of  that  adopted  by  the  dark  and  pas- 
sionate Caravaggio.  Guido,  besides,  here  shows  a 
rare  vigor,  which,  by  bringing  his  style  nearer  to  that 
of  his  rival,  makes  his  superiority  more  apparent. 

This  great  work  is  dated  1616.  Fourteen  years 
later,  when  the  plague  was  raging  at  Bologna,  Guido 
repeated  almost  the  same  composition  by  painting  a 
Glorified  Madonna,  below  whom  a  group  of  saints, 
the  protectors  of  Hs  native  town,  are  kneeling  IB 
prayer.  This  second  picture,  which  was  painted  on 
silk  and  called  the  Pallium,  was  carried  in  proces- 
sion during  the  plague.  It  is  an  excellent  specimen 
of  the  pale  coloring  which  Guido  had  adopted.  But 
the  most  celebrated  of  his  works,  after  the  Madonna 


BEATRICE  CENCI.-BY  GUIDO. 
In  (he  Barberini  Palace,  Rome. 


BOLOGNESE    SCHOOL.  321 

jPietd,  is  the  Massacre  of  ike  Innocents,  well 
known  through  engravings.  Both  these  pictures 
were  taken  to  Paris.  The  only  fault  to  be  found  in 
the  latter  is  a  grace  in  the  figures  so  unsuited  to  the 
subject  as  to  incur  the  charge  of  affectation.  The 
children  who  are  being  murdered,  the  women  tram- 
pled under  foot  or  dragged  along  by  the  hair,  are 
theatrical  and  studied  in  their  attitudes.  It  reminds 
one  too  much  of  what  is  said  of  Guido,  that  he  paint- 
ed figures  fed  on  roses.  But  the  details  are  admira- 
ble, and  setting  aside  this  defect,  which  arises  from 
the  style  of  the  artist  being  ill  adapted  for  such  a 
subject,  the  work  is  of  rare  beauty.  "We  can  under- 
stand why,  when  Guido  came  to  Koine  after  having 
finished  it,  the  pope  Paul  V.  and  the  cardinals  sent 
their  carriages  as  far  as  the  Ponte  Molle  to  meet  him, 
according  to  the  ceremonial  observed  on  the  reception 
of  ambassadors.  This  anecdote  will  not  surprise  us 
if  we  remember  how  much  vanity  and  haughtiness 
Guido  showed  at  the  period  of  his  greatest  fame ; 
how  he  established  a  ceremonial  to  be  observed  for 
the  routine  of  his  studio,  for  his  pupils'  functions,  and 
for  the  reception  of  visitors.  In  the  Louvre  there 
are  many  works  by  Guido,  amongst  others,  four  im- 
mense compositions  on  the  history  of  Hercules,  the 
proportions  larger  than  nature ;  one  of  these,  the 
Rape  of  Dejanira  ~by  the  Centaur  Nessu^  has  been 
made  popular  by  the  fine  engraving  of  Bervic. 

His  rival  in  celebrity  was  GUERCINO  (Giovanni 
Francesco  Barbieri  di  Cento,  1591-1666,  surnamed 
21 


322  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

Guercino,  or  Guercio,  the  Squinter,  because,  while 
still  in  the  cradle,  a  great  fright  caused  a  nervous  con- 
vulsion which  deranged  the  globe  of  his  left  eye).  In 
the  works  of  Guereino  we  can  admire  neither  the 
sublimity  of  the  thought,  nor  the  nobility  of  the 
forms :  these  qualities  are  not  to  be  looked  for  in  the 
son  of  a  poor  ox-driver  ;  but  we  cannot  but  admire 
the  exact  and  skilful  imitation  of  nature  which  he 
attained  at  once  by  correctness  in  drawing,  harmony 
in  color,  and  the  wonderful  use  he  made  of  chiaros- 
curo. It  is  to  the  latter  quality  that  he  owes  his  too 
ambitious  surname  of  "  The  Magician  "  of  painting. 
He  has  been  charged  with  giving  his  shadows  a  de- 
gree of  exaggerated  force,  as  did  Caravaggio  and 
Ribera ;  but  in  those  dark  shades  no  one  could  have 
put  more  transparency  and  lightness  than  Guercino. 
Others  have  with  justice  made  the  observation  that 
to  see  how,  in  his  pictures,  the  light  descends  and 
illuminates  every  object,  seeming  to  color,  surround, 
and  even  to  penetrate  them,  one  would  think  that  he 
painted  in  a  cavern  lighted  from  above  by  an  aper- 
ture. This  light  falling  from  above  is  indeed  the 
characteristic  feature  of  Guercino's  style,  and  the  ex- 
cellent use  he  made  of  it  his  greatest  title  to  glory. 
Probably  he  took  the  idea  and  the  practice  of  this 
characteristic  peculiarity  from  his  dreams  of  ardent 
piety.  A  mystic  even  to  ecstasy,  Guercino  believed 
that  the  angels  came  to  visit  and  sustain  him  in  his 
labor;  he  sometimes  imagined  that  he  saw  Jesus 
appear  to  him  in  His  glory,  and  that  he  even  heard 
Him  conversing  with  him. 


O     w 

Q    - 

B  I 


.*> 


BOLOGNESE   SCHOOL.  325 

The  greatest  works  of  Guercino  are  not  to  be 
found  in  Paris,  nor  even  at  Bologna.  One  is  in  Lon- 
don, in  the  Duke  of  Sutherland's  gallery  at  Stafford 
House.  This  is  the  apotheosis  or  canonization  of  a 
beatified  pope,  either  St.  Leo  or  St.  Sixtus.  The 
other,  which  is  no  less  vast  in  composition  and  grand 
in  its  style,  is  the  St.  Petronilla  in  the  Capitol  at 
Rome.  It  does  honor  alike  to  the  museum  and  to 
the  artist.  This  work,  which  is  of  singular  beauty, 
is  divided,  like  so  many  other  pictures,  into  two 
parts,  heaven  and  earth.  Quite  at  the  bottom,  some 
grave-diggers  are  opening  a  sepulchre  in  order  to  take 
out  the  body  of  the  daughter  of  the  apostle  Peter, 
who,  it'  I  remember  her  legend  aright,  was  thrown 
into  it  alive  as  a  forsworn  vestal.  This  exhumation 
takes  place  in  the  presence  of  several  persons,  amongst 
others,  of  the  betrothed  of  Petronilla,  a  young  man, 
dressed  in  the  fashion  of  the  sixteenth  century,  who 
does  not  seem  very  deeply  affected  at  seeing  the 
corpse  of  his  beloved  appear  above  the  edge  of  the 
grave.  As  for  the  saint  herself,  free  for  ever  from 
the  passions  of  the  lower  world,  radiant  with  glory, 
and  with  her  head  encircled  by  a  crown,  she  ascends 
on  the  clouds  towards  heaven,  where  the  Eternal 
Father  awaits  her  with  outstretched  arms.  We  may 
find  the  same  fault  with  this  large  work  of  Guercino, 
although  in  a  less  degree,  as  we  have  just  noticed  in 
the  St.  Jerome  of  Domenichino.  The  scene  in  heav- 
en is  not  sufficiently  mysterious  or  emblematic  ;  it 
has  too  much  of  earthly  reality.  But  by  correct  and 


326  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN   ART. 

bold  drawing,  and  lively  and  effective  coloring,  Guer- 
cino  scarcely  allows  this  reflection  to  occur  to  the 
mind.  The  spectator  is  really  dazzled  by  the  "  Ma- 
gician of  painting,"  who  here  deserves  his  flattering 
surname.  This  is  because  no  one  could  have  put  that 
knowledge  of  chiaroscuro,  which  was  so  dear  to  the 
Bolognese,  to  better  use,  nor  have  more  completely 
put  into  practice  the  precept  of  Michael  Angelo,  who 
wrote  to  Yarchi,  "'  The  best  painting  in  my  idea  is 
that  which  produces  the  best  relief."  The  copy  of 
this  St.  Petronilla  is  considered  the  finest  of  the 
mosaics  in  St.  Peter's — a  double  honor  for  one  work. 
Guercino  was  a  disciple  of  the  Carracci,  not  ex- 
actly from  having  received  lessons  from  them,  but 
from  having  learnt  art,  and  made  for  himself  a  style 
by  imitating  their  works.  Another  direct  pupil  of 
this  school  like  Domenichino  and  Guido,  was  FRAN- 
CESCO ALBANI  (1578-1660).  It  is  well  known  how 
much  this  master,  whose  style  was  so  soft  and  harmo- 
nious, and  who  was  called  the  "  Anacreon  of  paint- 
ing," loved  to  paint  in  small  proportions  mythological 
subjects,  in*which  he  might  introduce  as  many  groups 
as  he  pleased,  of  loves,  genii,  nymphs,  and  goddesses: 
these  he  painted  extremely  well,  always  placing  them 
in  charming  Arcadian  landscapes,  under  a  Grecian 
sky,  in  the  shade  of  great  trees,  which  stand  out 
against  a  misty  background  ornamented  with  archi- 
tectural structures.  But  what  is  not  generally  known 
is  that  Albani  painted  works  on  sacred  history  with 
the  figures  of  life  size.  There  are  four  of  them  in 


SANTA   PETRONILLA.— BY    GUEKCINO. 
In  the  Capitol,  1'omf. 


BOLOGNESE    SCHOOL.  329 

the  Pinacotheca  of  Bologna,  one  of  which  5s  a  Bap- 
tism of  Christ,  and  another  a  Glorified  Madonna, 
dated  1599.  Albani,  who  was  then  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  had  not  long  begun  to  paint.  These  four  pic- 
tures at  Bologna  reveal  a  nobler  and  more  truly 
religious  style  than  he  would  be  given  credit  for. 
They  are  also  a  positive  refutation  of  the  studio  say- 
ing, that  Albani,  having  a  very  beautiful  wife,  and 
twelve  children,  equally  beautiful,  took  his  models 
entirely  from  his  own  family.  Here,  instead  of 
nymphs  and  cupids,  are  men,  both  young  and  old, 
saints,  and  even  the  Eternal  Father. 

At  the  Louvre  there  are  merely  specimens  of  the 
usual  works  of  Albani.  Every  one  seems  to  be  a 
repetition  of  another  already  known,  and  the  reputa- 
tion of  which,  long  exaggerated  by  fashion,  is  now 
turned  almost  to  contempt,  carrying  the  injustice  to 
the  other  extreme.  The  Toilette,  and  the  Repos  de 
Venus,  the  Amours  desarmes,  Adonis  conduit  d 
Venus  par  les  Amours,  etc.,  etc.  Albani  may  be 
seen  there  with  all  the  graceful  qualities  which  his 
name  promises.  But  why  should  there  be  three 
Acteons  metamorphoses  en  cerfs  f  Of  what  use  can 
they  be  except  to  prove  the  sterile  fertility  of  an 
artist,  who,  laboring  on  to  extreme  old  age,  ever  re- 
peating himself,  had  the  misfortune  to  survive  his 
talent  and  his  fame.  And  why  should  there  be 
twenty-two  pictures  by  the  "  peintre  des  petits 
Amours  ?  "  Is  not  this  excessive  richness  almost  as 
much  to  be  lamented  as  the  extreme  poverty  of 


830  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

which  we  have  to  complain  when  speaking  of  more 
illustrious  names,  more  worthy  to  be  offered  as  mod- 
els ?  Sixty -eight  pictures  in  the  Louvre  for  Annibal 
Carracci,  Guido,  and  Albani,  do  not  really  represent 
sixty-eight  articles  of  a  catalogue,  but  merely  three 
painters  of  the  same  school — a  very  different  thing! 
If  the  Louvre  could  only  make  exchanges,  with  what 
joy  would  true  lovers  of  art  agree  to  such  contracts, 
and  how  much  young  artists  would  gain  for  their 
instruction  !  But  they  have  these  pictures  and  kee/ 
them:  they  make  up  a  number  for  a  list,  as  paste- 
board dishes  at  a  theatrical  feast.  Happily  the  direct- 
ors of  the  museum,  sharing  our  opinion  on  these  use- 
less and  barren  riches,  have  wisely  taken  from  the 
public  gallery  and  sent  to  the  storerooms  not  a  few 
of  the  too  numerous  productions  of  the  Bolognese 
School. 

THE  NEAPOLITAN  SCHOOL. 

Most  of  the  great  painters  who  have  settled  in,  or 
sojourned  at  Naples,  from  the  Florentine  Giotto  to 
the  Spaniard  Kibera — have  been  foreigners.  It  is, 
however,  fair  to  recognize  a  Neapolitan  school,  as 
ancient  as  that  of  Florence,  whose  first  masters,  going 
back  as  far  as  the  first  appearance  of  the  Renaissance, 
approach  the  unknown  painters  of  the  primitive 
Greco-Italian  School.  They  are  called  trecentist/.,  to 
show  that  they  belonged  to  the  fourteenth  century. 
Such  is,  first  of  all,  Tommaso  de  Stefani,  who,  born 


NEAPOLITAN    SCHOOL.  331 

in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  in  1324,  was  surnamed 
Giottino,  as  one  of  the  most  happy  imitators  of  the 
great  Giotto.  Such  are  again,  at  the  beginning  of 
the  following  century,  the  Neapolitan  Nicol  Antonio 
del  Fiore,  and  his  son-in-law,  Antonio  Salario,  sur- 
named the  Zingaro.  In  the  museum  of  the  Studi, 
there  is  a  celebrated  picture  by  the  former,  St.  Jerome 
extracting  a  Thorn  from  the  Lion's  paw,  quite  in  the 
style  of  the  Flemings  of  this  period,  Lucas  van  Ley- 
den,  or  the  blacksmith  of  Antwerp.  As  to  Zingaro, 
his  Glorified  Virgin  worshipped  by  a  Group  of 
Saints,  has  justly  been  placed  in  the  hall  of  capi 
d^opera.  This  important  work  is  of  particular  inter- 
est, because  it  gives  the  whole  life  of  the  painter. 
Antonio  Salario,  who  belonged,  doubtless,  to  that  no- 
made  tribe  called,  according  to  the  country  they 
inhabit,  zingari,  gitanos,  gipsies,  zigellner,  tzigani, 
bohemians,  was  at  first  a  tinker.  At  twenty-seven 
years  of  age  he  fell  in  love  with  the  daughter  of  An- 
tonio del  Fiore,  who  absolutely  refused  to  give  her  to 
him,  wishing  her  to  marry  none  but  an  artist  of  his 
own  profession.  Love  made  Zingaro  a  painter ;  he 
studied,  travelled,  and  ten  years  after  married  the 
object  of  his  affection.  It  is  she,  they  say,  whom  he 
has  represented  as  the  Madonna  ;  he  has  placed  him- 
self behind  the  young  bishop,  St.  Aspremus,  and  it  is 
believed  that  an  ugly  little  old  man,  cowering  in  a 
corner,  is  the  portrait  of  his  father-in-law. 

We  will  pass  rapidly  over  the  two  Donzelli  (Ippo- 
lito  and  Pietro) ;  over  Andrea  da  Salerno  (Sabbatini), 


332  WONDERS    OF   ITALIAN    ART. 

although  he  brought  from  Rome  to  Naples  the  lessons 
and  the  style  of  his  master  Raphael ;  over  the  Cala- 
brian  (Matia  Preti),  in  whom  we  recognize  a  skilful 
imitator  of  Guercino  ;  and  even  over  Giuseppe  Ce- 
sari,  sumamed  Josepin,  or  il  Cavaliere  d'Arpino, 
whose  superabundant  works  are  all  in  that  delicate, 
affected  style,  in  that  style  without  character,  which 
Caravaggio  detested  ;  and  we  will  stop  for  a  moment 
at  three  compositions,  all  Neapolitan,  of  Dornenico 
Gargiuoli,  commonly  called  Micco  Spadara.  One 
represents  the  Plague  of  Naples  in  1656,  another 
The  Friars  of  the  Carthusian  Monastery  imploring 
their  patron,  St.  Martin,  to  deliver  them  from  the 
Scourge,  rather  a  selfish  prayer,  for  it  would  not  have 
cost  the  pious  monks  anything  to  have  extended  their 
entreaty,  and  taken  in  the  whole  town  ;  the  third, 
The  Revolution  of  1647  under  Masaniello.  This 
last  work  is  very  curious,  because  in  one  moderate- 
sized  frame,  filled  with  a  crowd  of  small  figures,  one 
sees  all  the  particulars  of  this  strange  episode  in  the 
history  of  Naples,  related  as  it  were  by  an  impartial 
eye-witness. 

When  we  come  to  SALVATOR  ROSA  (1615-1673), 
we  are  disappointed  to  find  in  his  native  country  only 
incomplete  specimens  of  the  talents  of  this  original 
and  fertile  artist,  who  was  not  merely  a  painter,  but 
also  a  pcet,  musician,  and  actor.  In  three  charming 
lines  he  gives  an  account  of  his  careless  life : 

"  L'estate  all'  ombra,  il  pigro  verno  al  foco, 
Tra  modcsti  desii,  1'anno  mi  vide 
Finger  per  gloria  e  poetar  per  gioco." 

(Satira  della  Pittura.) 


NEAPOLITAN    SCHOOL.  333 

But  Salvator  never  made  long  stays  at  Naples ;  he 
was  three  times  driven  from  it ;  the  first  time  by 
want  ;  then  by  the  disdain  and  hatred  of  his  fellow- 
artists,  whom  he  did  not  conciliate ;  and  lastly  by  the 
fall  of  the  popular  and  patriotic  party  of  Masaniello, 
which  he  had  embraced  ardently  under  his  master, 
Aniello  Falcone,  the  chief  of  the  "  Company  of 
Death,"  in  which  the  greater  number  of  artists  had 
enrolled  themselves.  We  shall  find  most  of  his 
works  at  Florence,  Madrid,  Paris,  Munich,  and  Lon- 
don. 

The  most  celebrated  of  Salvator  Rosa's  pictures 
is  doubtless  the  Conspiracy  of  Catiline,  in  the  Pitti 
palace.  This  is  the  name  given  to  a  picture  which 
contains  several  half-length  figures  of  Romans.  But 
it  cannot  be  called  a  masterpiece.  In  fact  it  only 
confirms  the  opinion  that  half-length  figures  are  never 
sufficient  to  render  a  rather  complicated  subject  clear. 
The  want  of  clearness  is  indeed  the  principal  defect 
in  this  composition,  which  cannot  be  redeemed  by  the 
rare  and  brilliant  execution.  No,  Salvator  Rosa  is 
not  a  great  historical  painter ;  he  excels  in  battles, 
and  still  more  in  landscapes  and  sea-pieces.  This  is 
proved  by  two  tine  sea-pieces  in  the  Pitti  palace,  tin 
largest  and  perhaps  the  finest  that  he  ever  painted, 
and  also  by  the  large  landscape  in  Madrid,  in  which 
St.  Jerome  is  introduced  at  study  and  prayer.  Such 
a  subject  as  this — an  uncultivated,  desert  country, 
where  brambles  grow  by  the  side  of  sheets  of  water, 
and  where  the  only  ornaments  are  a  barren  rock,  and 


3o-i  WONDERS    OF    ITALFAN    AKT. 

a  trunk  blasted  by  lightning,  suits  well  with*  the  wild, 
dark  imaginings,  and  the  bold  and  capricious  pencil 
of  Salvator  Rosa.  At  Paris  we  shall  form  the  same 
opinion.  Before  the  Apparition  of  the  Spirit  of 
Samuel  to  /Saul,  it  must  be  confessed  that,  notwith- 
standing the  high  opinion  he  had  of  himself,  Salvator 
has  wholly  failed,  and  once  more  through  this  fault 
of  confusion  in  high  historical  subjects  ;  at  the  same 
time  we  must  acknowledge  that  he  fully  makes  up 
for  it  in  a  simple  Landscape,  animated  by  a  few  fig- 
ures. Salvator  feels  himself  at  his  ease,  and  displays 
his  real  qualities  in  depicting  a  den  of  robbers,  wild 
nature,  precipitous  rocks,  foamy  torrents,  and  trees 
bent  beneath  the  tempest. 

If  we  restore,  as  is  just,  Ribera  to  Spain,  the  most 
complete  and  celebrated  of  the  Neapolitan  painters  is 
certainly  LUCA  GIORDANO  (1632-1705).  He  enjoyed 
both  in  Italy  and  Spain  the  fatal  honor  of  marking 
the  extreme  limit  between  the  art,  of  which  he  was 
the  last  representative,  and  the  decadence  which  his 
example  hastened.  His  father,  one  of  the  numerous 
painters  who  rendered  the  masters  the  same  services 
as  marble-cutters  render  to  sculptors,  lived  at  Naples 
next  door  to  Ribera.  Showing  from  his  earliest  age  a 
decided  inclination -for  p.iinting,  the  little  Luca  passed 
his  days  in  the  studio  of  Lo  Spagnoletto.  At  seven 
years  of  age  he  painted  small  works,  which  excited 
the  admiration  of  the  whole  town.  At  sixteen  he 
fled  to  Rome,  where  he  was  joined  by  his  father,  and 
afterwards  travelled  through  Italy,  visiting  Florence, 


NEAPOLITAN    SCHOOL.  335 

Bologna, "  Parma,  Venice,  studying  under  nearly 
every  master,  and  in  every  style,  becoming  a  univer- 
sal imitator,  and  whilst  thus  fortifying  his  natural 
talent  by  such  various  studies,  he  enriched  his  father, 
who  sold  for  a  good  price  the  copies  from  the  old 
masters,  which  the  young  man  took  with  wonderful 
perfection.  Excited  by  this  double  advantage,  the 
father  constantly  urged  his  son  to  labor,  repeating 
from  morning  to  evening,  "  Luca,  fa  presto."  This 
saying,  which  became  well-known  among  artists,  has 
since  been  employed  to  designate  Giordano,  and  with 
much  justice,  us,  while  it  recalls  the  manner  in  which 
he  studied,  it  also  expresses  his  highest  quality  and 
his  greatest  defect. 

Luca  Giordano  has  left  two  large  compositions  in 
Italy,  which  show  clearly  that,  with  more  taste  and 
conscientious  work,  he  might  have  equalled  the  great- 
est masters.  These  are  the  Consecration  of  Monte 
Canno,  at  Naples,  and  the  Descent  from  the  Cress, 
at  Yenice.  In  all  his  other  works  there  are  found 
traces  of  wit,  originality,  and  sometimes  of  genius,  a 
fresh  and  transparent  coloring,  much  fertility,  and  an 
equal  amount  of  boldness — all  the'  resources,  in  fact, 
of  a  powerful  and  well-practised  pencil  ;  but  with  all 
these  merits,  his  style  is  commonplace,  wanting  in 
nobility  as  much  as  in  simplicity,  his  composition  is 
unnatural  and  forced,  containing  an  absurd  mixture 
of  history  and  mythology,  the  abuse  of  allegories 
carried  to  confusion  and  puerility.  Ills  attitudes  are 
forced,  foreshortening  is  introduced  needlessly,  there 


336  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

are  useless  lights,  incorrect  shadows,  inharmonious 
tints,  and  as  the  consequence  of  all  this,  false  and 
labored  effects,  which  form  a  fashion  in  the  arts  as 
short-lived  as  that  in  vestments,  without  having  the 
excuse  of  a  variety  not  allowed  by  unchangeable 
nature. 

When,  after  having  passed  nine  years  in  Spain, 
where  he  had  been  sent  for  by  the  imbecile  Charles 
II.,  who  had  been  persuaded  that  the  greatest  of 
painters  should  serve  the  greatest  of  kings,  Luca 
Giordano  returned  to  Italy.  He  was  received  with 
the  greatest  distinction  by  the  grand-duke  of  Tusca- 
ny, and  the  pope  Clement  XL,  who  allowed  him  to 
enter  the  Vatican  "  with  his  sword,  cloak,  and  spec- 
tacles." At  Naples  a  similar  reception  awaited  him, 
besides  so  many  orders,  that  Giordano,  rich  and  old, 
had  no  time  to  enjoy  before  his  death  that  otiumcum 
dignitate,  the  last  happiness  of  an  illustrious  man 
during  his  life.  It  was  at  this  period  that  one  of  his 
friends,  persuading  him  to  paint  with  reflection  and 
leisure  some  great  work,  for  the  glory  of  his  name : 
"  I  only  desire  glory,"  said  Giordano,  "  in  Paradise." 
"  Where,"  says  Cean  Bermudez,  "  we  hope  that  he 
entered  on  the  4th  January,  1705,  the  day  on  which 
he  died,  at  seventy-three  years  of  age." 

Luca  Giordano,  so  to  say,  flooded  Italy  with  his 
works;  he  did  the  same  in  Spain.  We  could  scarcely 
count,  much  less  describe,  the  enormous  ornamental 
works  which  he  painted  in  the  Escurial,  at  Buen 
Retire,  in  the  Cathedral  of  Toledo,  and  in  the  chapel 


NEAPOLITAN    SCHOOL.  337 

of  the  palace  at  Madrid.  To  give  an  idea  of  the 
prodigious  rapidity  of  his  execution,  it  suffices  to  say 
that  the  queen  having  come  one  day  to  visit  Giordano 
in  his  studio,  she  asked  after  his  family.  The  painter 
replied  with  his  pencil  by  immediately  tracing  his  wife 
and  children  on  the  canvas  before  him.  The  delighted 
queen  threw  round  his  neck  her  pearl  necklace.  To 
show  what  such  facility  may  produce  when  it  is  sec- 
onded by  assiduous  labor,  it  suffices  to  mention  mere- 
ly the  number  of  pictures  which  Giordano  executed 
during  his  residence  in  Spain.  Besides  the  great 
works  ordered  for  the  king,  the  book  of  Cean  Bermu- 
dez  gives  a  list  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  pic- 
tures in  the  churches  and  palaces  of  Madrid,  la 
Granja,  the  Pardo,  Seville,  Cordova,  Grenada, 
Xeres,  etc.  To  this  must  be  added  the  pictures, 
impossible  to  enumerate,  bought  by  private  ama- 
teurs. 

Similar  to  Lope  de  Yega  in  fertility  of  invention 
and  wonderful  facility  of  execution,  Luca  Giordano 
painted  a  picture  in  a  day,  as  the  poet  wrote  a  com- 
edy, and  each  counted  his  works  by  hundreds.  But 
both  deserve  to  be  quoted  as  examples  of  the  abuse 
of  natural  powers,  and  of  the  faults  this  abuse  entails. 
In  both,  these  powers  were,  as  it  were,  stifled  by  their 
own  excess ;  in  both  we  feel  the  absence  of  consci- 
entious work  and  pure  taste,  the  forgetfulness  of  that 
salutary  fear  of  the  public,  and  that  severity  of  self- 
control  without  which  there  can  be  no  perfection. 

What  was  in  reality  the  result  of  such  fine  quali- 
22 


338  WONDERS    OF    ITALIAN    ART. 

ties  and  such  great  labor  ?  Lope  de  Vega,  satisfied 
with  honors  and  riches,  whose  fame  was  so  great  that 
his  name  alone  was  employed  to  personify  excellence 
in  everything,  must  have  appeared  very  severe  tow- 
ards himself,  when,  at  the  close  of  his  lite,  passing  in 
review  more  than  two  thousand  dramatic  works,  he 
condemned  all  except  six ;  and  yet  posterity,  still 
more  severe,  has  not  even  allowed  this  exception  ; 
none  of  his  innumerable  works  have  been  considered 
worthy  to  be  selected  as  models.  It  is  the  same  with 
Luca  Giordano.  He  also  was  rich,  honored,  and 
celebrated  ;  but  posterity  has  not  treated  him  with 
less  severity  than  Lope  de  Vega,  and  all  the  glory  he 
enjoyed  during  his  life  may  now  be  summed  up  by 
the  nickname  given  him  in  his  childhood  :  to  us  he  is 
always  £uca,  fa  presto. 

In  other  respects  a  radical  difference  separates  the 
poet  from  the  painter.  Lope  de  Vega  created  or  at 
least  settled  the  drama  in  Spain  ;  he  opened  a  vast 
road,  in  which  he  was  followed  and  surpassed  by 
Calderon,  Moreto,  Rojas,  Alarcon,  Tirso  de  Molina, 
and  his  influence  extended  even  to  Corneille  and 
Moliere.  Luca  Giordano,  on  the  contrary,  was  the 
last  of  that  magnificent  generation  of  painters  who 
had  succeeded  each  other  in  Italy  since  the  masters 
of  Raphael ;  in  Spain  since  his  disciples.  He  had  a 
number  of  pupils,  dazzled  by  his  easy  success  ;  none 
were  able  to  follow  him  in  the  perilous  path  he  had 
chosen  ;  they  all  lost  their  way.  And  the  most  cele- 
brated among  them,  Mattei,  Simonelli,  Rossi,  Pacelli, 


NEAPOLITAN    SCHOOL.  339 

and  even  Solimena,  were  only  imitators  of  an  imi- 
tator. Luca  Giordano  had  destroyed,  as  if  for  his 
own  pleasure,  for  the  sake  of  a  fatal  agility  of  mind 
and  hand,  all  the  last  remaining  protecting  rules  of 
good  taste,  the  last  entrenchments  of  art.  He  left 
behind  him  merely  a  void,  and  his  name  will  remain 
as  the  most  solemn  demonstration  of  the  truth  that, 
besides  natural  gifts,  an  artist  requires  two  qualities 
of  head  and  heart ;  reflection  and  dignity. 


ALPHABETICAL  INDEX  OF  PAINTERS'  NAMES. 


PAGE. 

Agostino  of  Siena 41 

Agnolo  of  Siena 41 

Albani,  Francesco 826 

Allori,  Alessandro 122 

Cristoforo 122 

Andrea  del  Sarto 113 

Angelico,  Fra 87 

Baccliiata,  II 95 

Baldovinotto,  Alesso 59 

Barile,  Giovanni 113 

Bartolomeo  of  Florence 43 

Bartolomeo,  Fra,  della  Gaita..  48 

Bartolommeo,  Fra,  della  Porta.  1 1 1 

Basaiti,  Marco 81 

Bassano,  Francesco 294 

Giam  Battista 294 

Girolamo 294 

Jacopo 294 

Leandro 294 

Beccafumi,  Domenico 58 

Bellini,  Gentile 243 

Giovanni 246 

Belotto  Bernardo  297 

Bembi,  Bonifazio 290 

Berlinghieri,  Bonaventura. . ..  43 

Bordone,  Paris 290 


PAGE. 

Boticelli,  Sandro 128 

Bronzino  (Angiolo  Allori). ...  121 

Buffalmacco 81 

Buonarotti,  Michael  Angelo. ..  125 

Cagliari,  Carletto 289 

Canaletto 296 

Capanna,  Puccio 81 

Caravaggio 239 

Carpaccio,  Vittore 244 

Carracci,  Agostino 305 

Aunibal 305 

Ludovico 305 

Castagno,  Andrea  del 84 

Cavallini,  Pietro 81 

Cesari,  Giuseppe 332 

Cesto,  Cesare  da 214 

Cimabue 75 

Conegliaro,  Giam  Ciraa  da. ...  245 

Correggio 218 

Cortano,  Pietro  di 213 

Crcdi,  Lorenzo  da 95 

Crivelli,  Carlo 81 

Dolci,  Carlo 128 

Domenicbiiio 311 

Donatello.  .                                ,  41 


342 


ALPHABETICAL   LNDEX. 


FAOE. 

Donzelli,  Ippolito 331 

Duccio  of  Siena 58 

Ferrari,  Gaudenzio 214 

Fiore,  Col'  Antonio  del 331 

Fiorentino,  Stefano 78 

Fra  Bartolommeo Ill 

Fra  Giovanni  da  Fiesole 87 

Francesca,  Pietro  della 81 

Francia,   Francesco   298 

Gaddi,  Gaddo 58 

-     Taddeo 78 

Garofalo 217 

Ghiberti 41 

Ghirlandajo,  Domenico 95 

Giotto 77 

Giordano,  Luca 334 

Giorgione 249 

Giulio  Romano 204 

Giunta  of  Pisa 74 

Gozzoli,  Benozzo 88 

Guardi,  Francesco 297 

Guercino 321 

Guido  of  Siena 75 

Guido  Reni 317 

Laurati,  Pietro 81 

Leonardo  da  Vinci 98 

Lippi,  Filippo 95 

Lippo,  Andrea  di 45 

Lo  Spagna 95 

Lotto,  Lorenzo 290 

Luigi,  Andrea 95 

Luini,  Bernardino 213 

Maiano,  Benedetto  of 59 


PAO«. 

Maiano,  Giuliano  of 59 

Mantegna,  Andrea 214 

Maratti,  Carlo 213 

Margaritone  of  Arezzo 43 

Masaccio 92 

Mefozzo  of  Forli 81 

Melzi,  Francesco 214 

Memmi,  Simone 78 

Messina,  Antonello  da 84 

Michael  Angelo 125 

Mino  (  Fra)  de  Turrita 58 

Morone 290 

Orcagna 81 

Palma  Vecchio 290 

il  Giovine 290 

Pauicale,  Masolino  da 48 

Parmegiano 237 

Paul  Veronese ;..  282 

Penni,  Gian  Francesco 17- 

Perugino 95 

Pinturicchio 95 

Piombo,  Sebastian  del 290 

Pisano,  Andrea 41 

Giovanni 41 

Nicola 41 

Pistoja,  Gerino  da 96 

Pollajuolo,  Antonio 95 

Pontormo 115 

Pordenone - 290 

Porta,  Fra  Bartolommeo  della.  Ill 

Raphael 146 

Razzi li-5 

Reni,  Guido 317 

Ribeni,  Giuseppe    330 


ALPHABETICAL    INDEX. 


Rico,  Andrea  of  Candia 44 

Robusti,  Domenico 289 

Romano,  Giulio   . . . . , 204 

Rosa,  Salvator 332 

Salerno,  Andrea  da 331 

Salvator  Rosa 332 

Sanzio,  Giovanni 95 

Sarto,  Andrea  del 113 

Sebastian  del  Piombo  290 

Schiavone,  Andrea  Medola. ...  290 
Siena,  Agostino  of 41 

Agnolo  of 41 

Solario,  Antonio  (Zingaro). .  . .   331 

Andrea 214 

Spadara,  Micco 332 

Spagna,  Lo 95 

Spagnoletto  (Ribera) 330 

Squarcione 73 

Stamina,  Gherardo 81 

Stefano  of  Verona. 45 


PAOB.  PAGE. 

Tafi,  Andrea 58 

Tintoretto 278 

Titian 253 

Uccello,  Paolo 81 

Ugolino 81 

Ursone 43 

Vasari,  Giorgio 123 

Vecellio,  Orazio 289 

Veneziano,  Domenico 84 

Ventura  of  Bologna 43 

Verocchio,  Andrea  del 95 

Veronese,  Paul 282 

Vicentino 290 

Vinci,  Leonardo  da 98 

Vivarini,  Bartolommeo 243 

Luigi .   243 

Zingaro  (Salario) 331 

Zuccati,  Francesco 59 

Valerio. .  .     69 


educational 


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A  LEXANDER.  —  OUTLINES  OF  MORAL  SCIENCE. 
**•  By  ARCHIBALD  ALEXANDER,  D.D.,  late  Professor  in  the 
Theological  Seminary  at  Princeton,  N.  J.  One  volume,  i2mo, 
cloth  ...........  $i  50 

This  work  is  the  last  which  proceeded  from  the  lamented  author's  hand. 
Ethical  philosophy  engaged  his  mind  for  at  least  threescore  years,  and  was 
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©scierrrpore 


AUTAIN,  PROF.—  ART  OF  EXTEMPORE  SPEAKING 
(THE).  Hints  for  the  Pulpit,  the  Senate,  and  the  Bar.  By  M. 
BAUTAIN,  Vicar-General  and  Professor  at  the  Sorbonne.  Edited 
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expect  to  gain  distinction  as  ready  speakers  and  debaters.  The  treatise  is 
divided  into  two  parts.  In  the  first  part,  the  "  exposition  of  the  subject," 
the  qualifications  necessary  for  public  speaking,  "  the  mental  aptitudes  " 
for  it,  and  "  the  physical  qualities  of  the  orator,  natural  and  acquired,"  are 
discussed.  In  the  second  part,  M.  BAUTAIN  treats  at  length  of  "  the  divi- 
sion of  the  subject,"  "its  conception,"  "the  final  preparation  before  speak- 
ing," both  intellectual,  moral,  and  physical,  and  of  the  discourse  itself,  with 
its  exordium,  peroration,  etc,  eta  The  translator  of  the  volume,  a  distin- 
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The  American  editor  very  justly  remarks  in  the  preface  that  his  work  "has 
no  counterpart  or  rival  in  the  English  language,  so  prolific  of  treatises  upon 
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Charles  Scribner  &    Co.s   Text-Books,  etc. 


(N.  G.).  —  AN  OUTLINE  OF  THE  ELEMENTS  OF 
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(Stkemi^frg. 


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In  extent  and  exhaustiveness  of  reseai  ch,  in  breadth  of  scope  as  well 
as  in  minuteness  and  accuracy  of  detail,  Professor  Craik's  great  work  stands 
without  a  rival  among  similar  treatises.  Prof.  Craik's  method  of  treating 
this  subject  is  peculiarly  his  own.  Combining  the  history  of  English  litera- 
ture with  that  of  the  English  language,  he  takes  the  ground  that  "  in  the 
earliest  state  in  which.it  is  known  to  us  the  English  is  both  a  homogeneous 
and  a  synthetic  language,  —  homogeneous  in  its  vocabulary,  synthetic  in 
its  grammatical  structure.  It  has  since,  though  of  course  always  operated 
upon,  like  everything  human,  by  the  law  of  gradual  change,  undergone  only 
two  decided  revolutions  ;  the  first  of  which  destroyed  its  synthetic,  the 
second  its  homogeneous  character.  Thus,  in  its  second  form,  it  is  still  a 
homogeneous,  but  no  longer  a  synthetic  language  ;  in  its  third  it  is  neither 
synthetic  nor  homogeneous,  but  has  become  both  analytic  in  its  grammar 
and  composite  in  its  vocabulary.  The  three  forms  may  be  conveniently 
designated  :  —  the  first,  that  of  pure  or  simple  English  ;  the  second,  that  of 
broken  or  semi-English  ;  the  third,  that  of  mixed  or  compound  or  com- 
posite English.  The  first  of  the  three  stages  through  which  the  language 
has  thus  passed,  may  be  considered  to  have  come  to  an  end  in  the  eleventh 
century  ;  the  second  in  the  thirteenth  century  ;  the  third  is  that  in  which  it 
still  is."  Prof.  Craik's  treatise  is  devoted  to  this  "  third  form  of  the  lan- 
guage," as  he  defines  it,  and  which  he  regards  as  commencing  with  the 
poetry  of  Chaucer,  in  the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century.  Following 
down  English  literature  from  the  time  of  Chaucer,  he  gives  us  accounts  not 
only  of  writers  known  to  all  scholars,  and  the  names  of  the  majority  of  whom 
still  live,  but  he  furnishes  specimens  of  the  productions  of  a  large  number 
long  since  forgotten,  but  whose  style  illustrates  most  forcibly  the  transi- 
tions through  which  our  language  has  passed.  In  fulness  of  information 
and  in  critical  accuracy  Prof.  Craik's  work,  as  we  have  already  said,  sur- 
passes all  that  have  preceded  it  in  this  fascinating  field  of  investigation. 

CRITICAL  NOTICES. 

"  Professor  Craik's  book,  going  as  it  does  through  the  whole  history  of  the  language,  pro- 
perly takes  a  place  quite  by  itself.  We  have  philological  books  treating  of  our  earlicsl 
literature,  but  we  do  not  know  of  any  book  which,  like  the  present,  embraces  both,  Tbt 
great  value  of  the  book  is  its  thorough  comprehensiveness."  —  London  Saturday  Reoiem. 

*  AM  a  record  or  chronicle  of  English  literature,  Mr  Craik's  book  is  by  far  ttif  bcrt  thai 
has  vet  been  published."  —  North  American  Review. 


Charles  Scribner  &  Co.'s  Text-Books,  etc. 

QflKetoric* 

T^vAY. — ART  OF  ENGLISH  COMPOSITION  (THE).  By 
•"-^  Prof.  HENRY  N.  DAY.  One  volume,  i2mo,  cloth.  Free,  $i  50 
ART  OF  DISCOURSE  (THE).  A  System  of  Rhetoric 


adapted  for  use  in  Colleges  and  Academies,  and  also  for  private 
study.  By  Prof.  HENRY  N.  DAY.  One  volume,  I2mo,  cloth. 
Price,  ..........  *i  5° 

The  Art  of  Composition  and  the  Art  of  Discourse  are  complementary 
treatises  designed  to  cover  the  whole  field  of  text  book  instruction  in 
composition  and  rhetoric.  They  are  both  characterized  by  beginning  with 
the  thought  to  be  expressed  as  the  vital  element  in  all  good  speaking  and 
writing,  and  by  proceeding  from  that  to  the  verbal  expression.  They  arc 
both  unfolded  in  a  method  carefully  conformed  to  the  principles  of  thought, 
progressive  and  exhaustive.  They,  also,  are  both  designed  to  train  the 
pupil  in  the  art  of  writing,  and  are  furnished  with  copious  exercises  on 
each  form  of  thought,  each  process  of  representation,  and  each  mode  of 
verbal  expression. 

OPINIONS  OF  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTORS. 

"  Day's  '  Art  of  Discourse  '  is  now  used  as  the  Rhetorical  Text-  Book  in  Yale  College,  and 
I  think  no  better  work,  for  the  class,  has  yet  been  published."—  CYRUS  NORTHROP^ 
Professor  of  Rhetorif  and  English  Literature  in  Yale  College.  Neva  Haven,  August 


"  Recognizing  the  importance  of  method  in  learning  the  art  of  composition,  he  begins  at 
the  simplest  elements  of  grammar.  Training,  under  such  a  system,  cannot  fail  to  produce 
method  in  thought,  and  to  open  to  the  student  hitherto  unprolific  avenues  to  thought  of 
which  he  has  had  no  conception.  In  this  belief,  we  cannot  but  express  the  hope  that 
these  works  of  Professor  Day  may  come  into  genera]  use  in  our  schools  and  colleges."— 
New  Englander. 

"  Having  for  some  time  made  use  of  '  Day's  Art  of  Composition  '  as  a  class-book,  I  can 
without  hesitation  affirm  it  to  be  the  best  book  of  the  kind  I  have  met  with.  The  author  has 
struck  out  a  new  path  for  himself,  presenting  the  principles  of  the  language  on  a  system  pe- 
culiarly Iiis  own.  By  rightly  perceiving  that  composition  is  the  complement  to  grammar,  he 
simultaneously  makes  the  learner  acquainted  with  the  fa<5ls  and  principles  of  the  English  lan- 
guage as  it  is,  and,  by  carefully  devised  exercises,  habituates  him  to  the  use  of  it  as  an  instru- 
ment for  the  expression  of  thought.  Grammar  and  composition  taught  in  this  manner  be- 
come, instead  of  ahhorred  and  mechanically  executed  tasks,  an  exercise  pleasant  to  the  pupil, 
and  an  important  means  of  mental  training."  —  HENRY  W.  SIGLAR,Nev>burgk(Nev» 
York)  Institute. 

"  'The  Art  of  Composition,'  and  the  '  Art  of  Discourse,'  by  Prof.  Henry  N.  Day,  are  ex- 
cellent examples  of  text  -books  on  the  subjects  of  which  they  treat  The  author's  principles  are 
thoroughly  philosophical,  and  are  stated  with  great  precision  and  clearness,  while  at  tha 
same  time  he  brings  every  topic  to  the  test  of  practical  rules  and  examples.  If  his  books  ar« 
not  of  the  kind  which  may  be  called  easy,  they  are  yet  such  as  command  the  cor  Merc*  of 


Charles  Scribncr  &  Co'.s   Text-Books,  etc.  f 

the  best  class  of  teachers.  They  are  books  which  afford  good  mental  discipline,  and  are 
likely  to  insure  sound  scholarship,  and  to  make  good  writers  and  speakers."  —  JOHN  £>. 
HART,  Principal  State  Normal  School,  Trenton. 

"  I  cannot  have  the  slightest  hesitation  in  pronouncing  it  the  best  work  on  English  (iram- 
mar  (in  its  own  department)  with  which  I  am  acquainted.  The  principal  peculiarity  of  the 
work  —  the  reducing  language  to  its  proper  subordination  to  thought  —  is  a  feature  that  must 
jommend  itself  to  every  intelligent  mind.."  —  J.  Q.  FRENCH,  Atkinson,  New  Hampshire. 


of 


1H\AY.  —  ELEMENTS  OF  LOGIC.  Comprising  the  Doc- 
•^>^  trine  of  Laws  and  Products  of  Thought  and  the  Do6lrine  ol 
Method,  together  with  Logical  Praxis.  Designed  for  classes  and 
for  private  study.  By  Prof.  HENRY  N.  DAY.  One  volume,  i2mo. 
Price  ...........  $i  50 

Professor  DAY'S  long  experience  as  an  instructor  has  enabled  him  to 
fully  appreciate  the  necessities  of  the  student  and  teacher,  and  this  work 
with  those  upon  the  Arts  of  Composition  and  of  Discourse,  which  supple- 
ment it,  make  a  series  of  text  books  of  unsurpassed  practical  value.  The 
Logic  is  designed  for  learners,  and  the  aim  has  been  to  develop  the  science 
in  strict  method.  From  the  determination  of  the  single  radical  principle  of 
thought,  its  laws  and  the  fo*ms  of  its  produces  have  been  methodically 
evolved  ;  and  the  doctrine  of  method  with  the  exercises  is  but  the  end 
and  result  toward  which  the  unfolding  of  the  doftrine  of  the  elements  of 
thought  have  steadily  tended.  The  exercises  are  prepared  specially  for 
the  help  of  the  teacher.  Recognizing  fully  all  that  Sir  WILLIAM  HAMILTON 
and  others  have  done  for  the  science,  Professor  DAY  does  not  confine  himself 
strictly  to  any  one  method.  Various  new  points  are  introduced  which  have 
already  been  approved  and  accepted  by  the  numerous  instructors  who  have 
adopted  the  work  as  a  text  book  as  valuable  contributions  to  the  advance- 
ment of  the  science. 

OPINIONS  OF  PRACTICAL  INSTRUCTORS. 

No  person  who  studies  this  .book  can  well  fail  to  understand  logic.  —  Dr.  HORA  CE 
WEBSTER,  of  the  College  of  the  City  of  New  York. 

A  work  of  decided  merit  and  well  worthy  a  place  as  a  text  book  in  our  higher  institution* 
of  learning.  —  E.  jf.  RICE,  President  University  of  Kansas. 

I  am  most  favorably  impressed  with  its  suitableness  for  a  text  book  —  J.  W.  UNO- 
SA  Y,  President  of  Geneva  College. 

An  excellent  treatise  and  is  well  adapted  for  a  text  book  in  the  higher  institutions  of 
learning.  —  C.  NUTT,  President  Indiana  State  University. 

I  have  looked  over  DAY'S  Logic  and  am  very  much  pleased  with  the  method  and  the 
fulness  of  the  author's  discussion  of  the  subject  The  points  which  he  specifies  in  hii 
introductory  pages  give  it  peculiar  excellence  and  fit  it  to  be  a  text  book  in  pure  logic.  I 
shall  take  great  pleasure  in  commending  it  to  students  —  The  late  Professor  DUNff,  ty 
Brovm  University. 


Charles  Scribner  &  Co.'s   Text-Books,  etc. 


"T\AY. — AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  STUDY  OF  ENGLISH 
*-^  LITERATURE.  By  Prof.  H.  N.  DAY,  of  New  Haven.  One 
volume,  I2mo,  uniform  with  DAY'S  "  Logic"  "  Art  of  Discourse? 
and  "  Art  of  Composition"  Cloth  $2.25 

The  distinguishing  characteristic  of  this  text-book  is  that  it  directs  the 
study  to  the  literature  itself  as  a  growth,  not  to  authorship,  not  to  history, 
not  to  criticism.  It  presents,  in  the  first  part,  a  selection  of  the  master- 
pieces of  our  literature,  most  worthy  of  special  study  in  themselves,  while 
best  representing  the  successive  phases  of  the  language  and  literature. 
These  selections  are  accompanied  by  copious  notes,  philological,  historical, 
and  sesthetical,  indicating  and  explaining  the  changes  in  the  forms  and 
meanings  of  words,  the  structure  of  the  sentence,  and  the  verse-forms  in  our 
language.  It  thus  presents  a  study  that  can  be  prosecuted  with  as  definite 
an  aim  and  object  in  each  successive  lesson  as  the  ordinary  study  of  a  Greek 
or  Latin  classic.  It  guides  the  learner  to  what  he  is  to  learn,  and  the  teacher 
to  what  he  is  to  teach.  Besides  the  concrete  presentation  of  our  literature 
in  these  representative  selections,  in  the  second  part  it  presents,  in  a  strict 
analytical  method,  a  full  detailed  view  of  the  elements  of  the  language,  and 
of  the  departments  of  the  literature,  with  the  leading  authors  in  each  depart- 
ment. To  this  part  the  notes  or  the  selections  refer  throughout  The  rise 
of  language,  the  origin  and  affinities  of  the  English  tongue,  its  elements 
and  characteristics,  the  principles  of  its  orthography,  pronunciation,  word- 
formation,  versification,  etc.,  are  here  systematically  treated  for  thorough 
study  or  for  incidental  reference. 

relier. 

"P\AY. — THE  AMERICAN  SPELLER.  By  Prof.  H.  N.  DAY, 
•*-'  Author  of  "  Logic,"  "  Art  of  Discourse,"  "  Art  of  Composi- 
tion, '*  and  "  Introduction  to  English  Literature." 

In  preparing  this  work,  the  entire  vocabulary'of  the  language  has  been 
ranged  word  by  word,  and  distributed  into  classes  under  the  orthographic 
principles  which  have  determined  the  spelling.  The  pupil  thus,  while 
learning  comparatively  few  individual  words,  comes  unconsciously  to  8 
practical  acquaintance  with  the  classes  of  words,  and  so  to  the  principles  of 
the  orthography.  The  work  is  of  the  medium  size  of  spelling-books  in  use, 
and  of  the  ordinary  size  of  type.  But  by  its  compactness,  its  methodical 
arrangement  in  groups  and  classes,  and  its  omission  of  foreign  matter,  it 
contains  more  words  than  ordinary  spelling-books,  besides  a  primer  sufficiently 
ample  to  introduce  adults  to  the  more  advanced  reading  lessons,  and  also  a 
large  selection  of  choice  sentences  for  dictation  exercises. 


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